Object Details
Artist
Jacques Callot
Date
1622
Medium
Etching on laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 5 3/8 x 4 1/8 inches (13.7 x 10.5 cm)
Sheet: 5 9/16 x 4 5/16 inches (14.1 x 10.9 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of George H. Sabine
Object
Number
61.138
Callot made two nearly identical plates of this etching, one at the end of his time in Florence, and(…)
Callot made two nearly identical plates of this etching, one at the end of his time in Florence, and another as he was returning to France, presumably to correct wear on the first plate. The setting is an invented Roman Baroque style, reflecting his studies in Italy, and the buildings loom large in the foreground. The broad street and gesticulating figures create a dramatic, theatrical scene, which is augmented by the oval outline of the image. The figures are arranged on several planes of action that recede into the distance and terminate in an idyllic hillside scene, suggestive of The Flight into Egypt, which is often shown in conjunction with Massacre of the Innocents. This use of perspective allows Callot to fit quite a bit of activity rather cohesively into a small space, a formula that he applies to his later works as well.
