The Assumption, plate 10 from "Les Tableaux de Rome, Les Eglises Jubilaires" (The Paintings of Rome, The Churches Jubilee)

Art Historical Context

This delicate engraving captures the Assumption of the Virgin, a beloved subject in Christian art showing Mary rising heavenward amid a chorus of angels. Created by Jacques Callot after a design by the Italian painter Girolamo Muziano, the print belongs to the series *Les Tableaux de Rome, Les Eglises Jubilaires* (1607–11). The series reproduced notable paintings from Rome’s Jubilee churches, offering pilgrims and collectors a portable record of sacred art during the early seventeenth century. Callot, celebrated for his precise line work and technical mastery, translated Muziano’s composition into the engraving medium with remarkable clarity despite the print’s modest size. The second state of three reveals the artist’s careful refinements, demonstrating how printmakers of the period balanced fidelity to the original painting with their own interpretive skill. Such reproductive engravings played a vital role in spreading knowledge of Italian Renaissance and Mannerist works across Europe. Housed today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of the Elisha Whittelsey Collection, this small sheet exemplifies the intersection of devotion, travel, and artistic dissemination in the Baroque era. Its intricate details reward close viewing, inviting modern audiences to appreciate both the heavenly scene and the craftsmanship that preserved it for centuries.

About the Artist

Jacques Callot|Girolamo Muziano · 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...