La Paysanne Tournée a Gauche, un Panier a son Bras (La Paysanne Turned to the Left, a Basket in her Arms), from Varie Figure (Various Figures)
ca. 1620
Medium
Etching; second state of four (Lieure)
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 1/4 x 3 5/8 in. (8.3 x 9.2 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
57.650.373(5)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jacques Callot's *La Paysanne Tournée a Gauche, un Pan a son Bras* (The Peasant Woman Turned to the Left, Basket in Her Arms), from the series *Varie Figure* (Various Figures), captures the humble grace of rural life around 1620. This etching depicts a sturdy peasant woman striding leftward, her basket balanced on one arm—a poignant snapshot of everyday toil in 17th-century Europe. Callot a masterful French printmaker active in Florence and Lorraine, specialized in portraying the lower classes with vivid empathy, elevating ordinary folk amid the grandeur of the Baroque era. Rendered as a seco...
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...