Frontispiece for the Sacred Cosmologia (Title With Astrologers)
1630 or later
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 14.1 × 9.3 cm (5 9/16 × 3 11/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
R.L. Baumfeld Collection
Accession Number
1969.15.907
Art Historical Context
This delicate etching, titled *Frontispiece for the Cosmologia (Title Withrologers)*, is after the renowned French artist Jacques Callot (1592–1635) around 1630 or later. Callot, a master of Baroque printmaking, was celebrated for his intricate, densely populated scenes etched with remarkable precision. As a frontispiece—a decorative title page illustration—this small print (just 14.1 × 9.3 cm) likely adorned a scholarly volume exploring sacred cosmology, blending astronomy, astrology, and theology during Europe's Scientific Revolution. Etched on laid paper, a common support for fine prints o...
About the Artist
after Jacques Callot
**Jacques Callot (c. 1592–1635)**, the master whose designs inspired the works attributed "after Jacques Callot," was a pioneering French Baroque printmaker and draftsman born in Nancy, capital of the independent Duchy of Lorraine (now northeastern France). From a noble family—his father served as master of ceremonies and herald-at-arms to the Duke of Lorraine—young Callot was apprenticed to a gol...