Frontispiece, from the series 'The little apostles' (Les petits apôtres)
ca. 1632
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 3/8 x 3 3/8 in. (11.1 x 8.5 cm) Plate: 2 13/16 x 1 3/4 in. (7.1 x 4.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.264.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jacques Callot, a masterful French Baroque printmaker (1592–1635), created this delicate etching as the frontispiece for series *Les petits apres* ("The Little Apostles") around 163. Collaborating with publisher Israël Henriet, Callot produced these diminutive works—measuring just under 3 by 2 inches on the plate—to depict Christ, the Apostles, and scenes of the Crucifixion and Cross. The intimate scale made them ideal for personal devotion, portable aids for prayer in an era of fervent Catholic piety during the Counter-Reformation. Etching allowed Callot to achieve extraordinary detail with ...
About the Artist
Jacques Callot|Israël Henriet · 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...