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Jacques Callot (French, 1592-1635)
The Large Hunt, 1619
Etching
Gift of Margaret Crile Garretson in memory of Hiram Garretson 1970.342
Callot is known for two important inventions in etching. He designed a
slanted, oval-shaped, steel-tipped etching tool called an échoppe which is
used to imitate the tapering and swelling lines of an engraving. He also
developed a hard ground (an acid-resistant coating for etching plates),
composed of mastic and linseed oil, that resisted chipping. Callot's work
was significantly influenced by theater design. His organization of space,
usually into three distinct areas (although there are five in this
case)-foreground, middleground, and background-resembles stage sets of the
time. In fact, this work was probably inspired by a theater screen painted
by Federico Zuccaro in 1565.
Like Jacques Bellange, whose works are featured in galleries 109 and 110,
Callot was from Lorraine. He was one of the most prolific professional
printmakers of the 1600s. Trained as an engraver, he worked in Nancy,
France, the Low Countries, and in Florence for Grand Duke Cosimo II de'
Medici. His range of subjects was broad-religious scenes, theater and
pageants, court life, beggars, and landscapes.
