A Man Seen from the Back Leaning on a Croquet Mallet
1629
Medium
Etching; first state of two
Dimensions
Sheet: 5 3/8 × 3 11/16 in. (13.7 × 9.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1962
Accession Number
62.600.86
Tags
Art Historical Context
Abraham Bosse's *A Man Seen from the Leaning on a Cro Mallet* (1629) captures a fleeting moment of leisure in 17th-century France through the delicate art of etching. This intimate print, measuring just 5 3/8 × 3 11/16 inches, depicts a solitary man viewed from behind, casually leaning on his croquet mallet—a to the popular outdoor game *paille-maille* enjoyed by the French nobility and emerging middle class during Louis XIII's reign. Bosse, a Parisian printmaker born in Tours, was renowned for his precise line work and commitment to etching as a democratic medium, more accessible than engravi...
About the Artist
Abraham Bosse · 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 ...