Shoemaker (Le Cordonnier)
ca. 1632–33
Medium
Etching; second state of two (Join-Lambert and Préaud)
Dimensions
sheet: 9 15/16 x 12 7/8 in. (25.3 x 32.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.2249
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Shoemaker (Leonnier)**, created around 1632–33 by French printmakers Abraham Bosse and Jean Iblond, offers a vivid glimpse into 17th-century Parisian daily life. This etching, in its second state of two as noted by scholars Join-Lambert andaud, captures a bustling shoemaker's workshop. Men and women fill the intimate interior, surrounded by tools, leather, and half-finished shoes—a snapshot of a common trade that sustained urban communities during the reign of Louis XIII. Abraham Bosse, a master etcher renowned for his meticulous technique and interest in everyday scenes, likely handled the...
About the Artist
Abraham Bosse|Jean I Leblond · 1602–1676
Abraham Bosse (1604–1676) was a French printmaker and theorist whose approximately 1,600 etchings provide an unparalleled visual record of 17th-century French life. Born to Huguenot parents in Tours, he trained in Paris under Melchior Tavernier and became a devoted follower of Jacques Callot's technical innovations. Bosse's meticulous etchings depicted subjects ranging from daily life and fashion ...