Blind Beggar Bumping A Pillar; this and 63.616.39 (2) are two plates of beggars from the story of Lazaville de Tormes.
17th century
Medium
Etching with drypoint; third state of three
Dimensions
13.1 x 11.9 cm
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1963
Accession Number
63.616.39(1)
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the bustling world of 17th-century Dutch genre, Thomas Wijck masterfully captures a poignant moment from the classic Spanish picaresque *Lazarillo de Tormes*. This etching depicts a blind beggar clumsily bumping into a pillar accompanied by scavenging dogs—a vivid illustration of the protagonist's early hardships as a street urchin guided by a cruel master. Wijck, a Dutch artist renowned for his lively scenes of everyday lowlife, infuses the composition with humor and pathos, reflecting the era's fascination with social underclasses during the Dutch Golden Age. Printed as an etching with d...