S. Genès, martyr (St. Genesius, Martyr), August 25th, from "Les Images De Tous Les Saincts et Saintes de L'Année" (Images of All of the Saints and Religious Events of the Year)
Medium
Etching; second state of two (Lieure)
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 9/16 x 1 15/16 in. (6.5 x 5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.17-371(292)
Tags
Art Historical Context
**S. Genès, (St. Genesius, Martyr), August th** From Jacques Callot's *Les Images de Tous les Saincts et Saint de l'Année* (1636), this delicate etching captures the dramatic martyrdom of St. Genes, a 4th-century Roman actor who converted to Christianity mid-performance and was executed under Emperor Diocletian Rendered in the second state of two by cataloguer Lieure, the tiny sheet (just 2 9/16 x 1 15/16 inches) showcases Callot's genius for miniature masterpieces, teeming with figures of saints, angels, and tormentors in a whirlwind of motion. Callot, a leading Baroque etcher from Lorrain...
About the Artist
Jacques Callot|Israël Henriet · 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...