The Two Pantaloons Looking at Each Other, from The Caprices
c. 1622
Medium
Etching in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 5.3 × 8 cm (2 1/8 × 3 3/16 in.); Sheet: 8 × 11.1 cm (3 3/16 × 4 3/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
131526
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In the 17th century, the word capriccio generally indicated a musical composition that thwarted listeners’ expectations with sudden changes in tempo, rhythm, or structure that appeared to be made according to the performer’s whim, or caprice. Jacques Callot borrowed the term to describe a series of etchings with a wide variety of diverting subjects including peasants, architectural sites, military maneuvers, and musicians. Among other motifs, he depicted two pairs of dancers frolicking and playi...
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...