Le Mendiant a la Tête Découverte et aux Pieds Nuds (The Beggar with the Uncovered Head and Bare Feet), 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 9/16 x 3 9/16 in. (14.2 x 9 cm) Plate: 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
Gift of Henry Walters, 1917
Accession Number
17.37.139
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Le Mendiant a la Têteouverte et aux Piedsuds (The Beggar the Uncovered Head and Feet)** Created around 1623 by the masterful French etcher Jacques Callot, poignant print is part of his renowned *Les Gueux* series—also known as *Leseggars*, *Les Baroni*, *Les Barons*.ot, a Baroque artist celebrated for his intricate depictions of everyday life and hardship, captured the gritty world of 17th-century Europe's marginalized poor. This first-state etching (as catalogued by Lieure) shows a ragged beggar, head uncovered and feet bare, embodying the raw vulnerability of the wandering underclass du...
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...