Aiding the wounded after a battle
1635–60
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 8 5/16 × 13 3/16 in. (21.1 × 33.5 cm) Sheet: 9 1/2 × 14 1/4 in. (24.2 × 36.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1957
Accession Number
57.581.11
Art Historical Context
Jacques Courtois, known asil Borgognone*, was a prominent 17th-century Baroque artist renowned for his dynamic battle scenes. Active primarily in Italy after fleeing France during religious conflicts, Courtois captured the chaos and drama of warfare with vivid energy. Created between 1635 and 1660—an era marked by the Thirty Years' War's devastation—this etching, *Aiding the Wounded After a Battle*, depicts the poignant aftermath: soldiers tending to the injured amid strewn weapons and fallen comrades, blending raw realism with emotional depth. Etching, Courtois's favored medium here, involve...
About the Artist
Jacques Courtois · 1621–1676
A specialist in battle paintings, he also painted religious and other scenes. As a teenager, Courtois left France for Italy with his young brother, Guillaume. He drew military campaigns, then studied in Bologna, Florence, and Siena, arriving in Rome by 1638. He worked primarily in Italy. He joined the Jesuit order in 1657.