La Borgnesse (The Woman with One Eye), from Les Gueux suite appelée aussi Les Mendiants, Les Baroni, ou Les Barons (The Beggars, also called the Barons)
ca. 1623
Medium
Etching; first state of two (Lieure)
Dimensions
Sheet: 5 7/16 x 3 7/16 in. (13.8 x 8.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Edwin De T. Bechtel, 1957
Accession Number
57.650.308(19)
Art Historical Context
Jacques Callot's *La Borgnesse (The Woman with One Eye is a poignant etching from his renowned *Les Gueux* suite—also known as *Les Mendiants*, *Lesoni*, or *Lesons*—created around 1623. This first-state impression captures one of a series of 25 small-scale prints depicting the gritty world of 17th-centuryars and social outcasts in France and Italy. Callot, a master Baroque etcher from Lorraine, revolutionized printmaking with his virtuoso use of the etching needle, producing intricate lines and textures on plates as tiny as 5 7/16 x 3 7/16 inches, allowing for mass reproduction of vivid socia...
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...