Beggar Woman with Crutches
c. 1622
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 14 × 9 cm (5 1/2 × 3 9/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
R.L. Baumfeld Collection
Accession Number
1969.15.507
Art Historical Context
Jacques Callot's *Beggar Woman with Crches*, created around 1622, is a etching on laid paper, measuring just 14 ×9 cm. This intimate print captures a humble figure from the margins of 17th-century European society—a ragged woman leaning on crutches, her posture conveying both resilience and hardship. As a master French printmaker of the Baroque era, Callot excelled in etching, a technique that allowed him to incise intricate lines into a metal plate with acid, producing remarkably detailed images from a single plate. The trimmed sheet highlights the precision of his work, making it ideal for w...
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...