Le Joueur de Violon (The Violin Player), from Varie Figure Gobbi, suite appelée aussi Les Bossus, Les Pygmées, Les Nains Grotesques (Various Hunchbacked Figures, The Hunchbacks, The Pygmes, The Grotesque Dwarfs)
1616–22
Medium
Etching and engraving; first state of two (Lieure)
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 5/16 x 10 3/8 in. (18.5 x 26.3 cm) Plate: 2 1/2 x 3 7/16 in. (6.4 x 8.7 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
57.650.302(18)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jacques Callot's *Le Joueur de Viol (The Violin Player)*, created between 1616 and 1622, is a captivating etching and engraving from his renowned series *Varie Figurebi*—also known as *Variousunchbacked Figures*, *The Hunchbacks*,The Pygmies*, or *The Grotesque Dwarfs This first-state impression, measuring just 2½ x 3⅜ inches on the plate, exemplifies Callot's mastery during his time in Florence, where he drew inspiration from Italian street life, commedia dell'arte performers, and the fantastical dwarf figures popular in Renaissance courts. The print depicts a diminutive, hunchbacked musicia...
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...