Beggar with Crutches and Sack
c. 1622
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 14 × 9 cm (5 1/2 × 3 9/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
R.L. Baumfeld Collection
Accession Number
1969.15.501
Art Historical Context
Jacques Callot's *Beggar with Crutches and Sack* (c. 1622) is a poignant etching on laid paper, measuring just 14 × 9 cm, captured with exquisite precision. This intimate print from the National Gallery of Art's.L. Baumfeld Collection a ragged figure leaning on crutches, burdened by a sack, embodying the harsh realities of 17th European underclass life. Callot, a masterful French printmaker of the Baroque era, produced this as part of his renowned *Beggars* (*Les Gueux*) series, using etching—a technique where acid etches intricate lines into a metal plate—to create richly detailed images from...
About the Artist
Jacques Callot · 1592–1635
Jacques Callot (1592–1635) was a French printmaker and draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine, widely regarded as one of the first great artists to practice the graphic arts exclusively. His more than 1,400 etchings chronicled the breadth of 17th-century life, from Medici court festivities to the brutal realities of warfare. Callot revolutionized etching through technical innovations including the é...