A gentleman seen from behind walking into a church
ca. 1629
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 6 1/16 × 3 15/16 in. (15.4 × 10 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
57.581.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
In this intimate etching from around 1629, titled *A Gentleman Seen from Behind Walking into Church*, French artists Abraham Bosse and Jean de Saint-Ig capture a fleeting moment of everyday piety. Viewed from behind, the elegantly dressed gentleman strides toward the grand church entrance, his cloak billowing slightly, evoking the quiet devotion of 17th-century. Measuring just 6 1/16 × 3 15/16 inches, the trimmed sheet invites close inspection, revealing fine architectural details of the church portal. Abraham Bosse, a pioneering etcher active in Paris, was renowned for his meticulous reprodu...
About the Artist
Abraham Bosse|Jean de Saint-Igny · 1602–1676
Abraham Bosse (1604–1676) was a French printmaker and theorist whose approximately 1,600 etchings provide an unparalleled visual record of 17th-century French life. Born to Huguenot parents in Tours, he trained in Paris under Melchior Tavernier and became a devoted follower of Jacques Callot's technical innovations. Bosse's meticulous etchings depicted subjects ranging from daily life and fashion ...