Jésus est Livré aux Juifs (Jesus is Delivered to the Jews), from La Petite Passion (The Little Passion)

Art Historical Context

Jacques Callot's *Jésus est Livré Juifs (Jesus is Delivered to the)* is a poignant etching from his renowned series *La Petite Passion (The Little Passion), between 1624 and 1625. This first-state impression captures a dramatic moment from the Passion of Christ, where Jesus is betrayed and handed over by Judas. Part of a cycle of 36 small prints depicting Christ's life, death, and resurrection, it exemplifies Callot's mastery during the Baroque era, a time when religious imagery flourished amid the Counter-Reformation. Renowned for revolutionizing etching techniques, Callot employed a fine, staccato line—achieved through multiple acid bites—to pack extraordinary narrative detail into a tiny sheet measuring just 3 1/16 x 2 5/16 inches (7.7 x 5.8 cm). This allowed for intricate depictions of crowded scenes, expressive faces, and emotional tension, making the print both intimate and immersive. As a first state (per Lieure cataloguing), it preserves the artist's purest vision before later refinements. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (Bequest of Edwin De T. Bechtel, 1957), this work highlights Callot's influence on printmaking, bridging painting and popular devotion. Its diminutive scale invited personal meditation, reflecting 17th-century Europe's deep Catholic piety and the era's artistic emphasis on pathos and realism.

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...