Reverse Copy of La Mendainte aux Béquilles (The Female Beggar with Crutches), from Les Gueux suite appelée aussi Les Mendiants, Les Baroni, ou Les Barons (The Beggars, also called the Barons)
17th century
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 5 3/8 x 3 7/16 in. (13.7 x 8.8 cm) trimmed and backed
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1947
Accession Number
47.100.744
Art Historical Context
This poignant etching, titled *Reverse Copy of La Mend aux Béquilles ( Female Beggar with Crches)*, is part of Jacques Callot's renowned *Les Gueux* suite—also known as *Lesendiants*, *Lesoni*, or *Lesons*—produced in the early 17th century. Callot, a masterful French printmaker, captured the gritty world of Europe's marginalized beggars and vagabonds with extraordinary detail in these small-scale works. This anonymous reverse copy mirrors the original composition, likely created for reproductive or instructional purposes, highlighting the era's fascination with print dissemination. Etched on...
About the Artist
Jacques Callot|Anonymous · 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...