Le Chars et Les Personnages (The Chariots and The Characters), from La Guerre d'Amour (Guerra d'Amore) (War of Love)
1615
Medium
Etching; first state of two (Lieure)
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 7/8 x 11 13/16 in. (22.6 x 30 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, by exchange, 1940
Accession Number
40.52.14
Art Historical Context
Jacques Callot's *Le Chars et Lesnages (The Chariots and The Characters)*, created in 1615, is a captivating etching from the series *La Guerre d'Am (Guerra d'Amore)*, or *War of Love*. This suite imagines a fantastical battle driven by romance, blending theatrical spectacle with allegorical whimsy. Callot, a pioneering French printmaker active in Italy and Lorraine during the early Baroque era, captures the chaos of chariots and lively figures in dynamic motion, evoking the grandeur of Renaissance festivals and mock tournaments popular among Europe's nobility. As a first-state impression—one...
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...