Le Berger Jouant de la Flute (The Shepherd Playing the Flute), from Les Caprices Series A, The Florence Set
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/16 x 3 1/8 in. (5.5 x 8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, by exchange, 1940
Accession Number
40.52.57
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intimate etching *Le Berger Jouant de Flute (The Shepherd the Flute)*, created in 1617 by Jacques Callot a lone shepherd pipes a lively tune on his flute while his loyal dog gazes attentively nearby. This delicate print, measuring just 2 3/16 x 3 1/8 inches, belongs to Callot's *Les Caprices Series A, The Set*, a collection of whimsical scenes produced during his time in Tuscany. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it exemplifies the artist's mastery of the etching medium, where fine, burin-like lines capture movement and texture on a tiny scale. ...
About the Artist
Jacques Callot|Lorenzo de' Medici · 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...