Le Repas Chez le Pharisien (The Meal at the Home of the Pharisee), from Les Quatre Banquets (The Four Feasts)
ca. 1625
Medium
Etching and engraving; first state of two (Lieure)
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 5/16 x 10 1/2 in. (18.5 x 26.6 cm) Plate: 2 15/16 x 2 3/16 in. (7.5 x 5.5 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
57.650.358(2)
Art Historical Context
Jacques Callot's *Le Repas Chez learisien (The Meal the Home of the Pharise)*, created around 1625, captures a pivotal biblical moment from the Gospel of Luke (7:36–50). Part of the series *Lesatre Banquets (The Four Feasts)*, it depicts Jesus dining at the home of Pharisee Simon, where a sinful woman anoints his feet ointment—an act of profound devotion that sparks theological debate. Callot, a masterful French etcher from the Lorraine school active during the Baroque era, drew from religious narratives to explore human emotion and social dynamics in crowded, theatrical compositions. This fi...
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...