Accession Number
2008/2.383.4

Title
Old Beggar with One Crutch, from "Beggar Series" or "Les Gueux"

Artist(s)
Jacques Callot

Artist Nationality
French (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
circa 1621

Medium & Support
etching on medium laid paper

Dimensions
11 in. x 8 3/4 in. ( 27.94 cm x 22.23 cm )

Credit Line
Gift of Ruth W. and Clarence J. Boldt, Jr.

Label copy
Gallery Rotation Winter 2013
Jacques Callot
France, 1592–1635
Man with Back Turned,
from Les Gueux
1622–28
Etching
Gift of Ruth W. and Clarence J. Boldt, Jr., 2008/2.383.4
These three etchings are from Jacque Callot’s Les Gueux or The Beggars, which consists of twenty-five prints likely produced during the artist’s stay in Italy. Callot’s compassionate representations of the figures reveal his talent for incisive observation and intense interest in surface textures and details, showcased by his meticulous engraving technique. The lack of background details gives the figures an imposing monumentality and emphasizes the detailed rendering of their features and accoutrements. Callot was one of the best known and most accomplished printmakers of the period and his prints were popular and frequently copied.
Aside from the frontispiece, Two Pilgrims is the only print from the series that depicts multiple figures. Their ragged layered clothes, large hats, walking sticks, and distinctive badges suggest that they are either embarking on or returning from a pilgrimage, as does the church visible in the distance.

Subject matter
Jacques Callot was an innovative and highly accomplished printmaker. Callot's style is both dramatic and elegant; here we see the monumental treatment of a beggar observed and drawn with great sensitivity.

Physical Description
A man is seen from the back, dressed n rags and leaning on a staff. He has a hat over cloth that is wrapped around his head. The single figure dominates the composition.
Paper size: h 21 7/10cm x w 15cm. Plate sizeL h 13 4/5cm x w 8 4/5cm.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
intaglio print

Additional Object Classification(s)
Print

Rights
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Keywords
backs (gathered matter components)
beggars
etching (printing process)
etchings (prints)
men (male humans)