Catafalque of the Emperor Mathias with performance of funeral inside the Church of San Lorenzo, Florence
1619
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 11 x 8 1/4 in. (28 x 20.9 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.258
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intricate etching *Catafalque of Emperor Mathias with performance of inside the Church of San, Florence* (1619), French artist Jacques Callot captures a moment of somber grandeur. Created during Callot's time in Florence under Medici patronage, the print depicts the elaborate funeral bier—or catafalque—for Holy Roman Emperor Matthias, who died that year, amid a crowded ceremony in the historic San Lorenzo church. Callot's masterful use of etching allows for astonishing detail: mourners in period attire fill the ornate interior, from clergy and nobles to everyday men and women, evoking t...
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...