The Fair at Impruneta
1622
Medium
Etching on two sheets of ivory laid paper
Dimensions
41.8 × 66.8 cm (16 1/2 × 26 5/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
101514
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Callot packed 1138 people, 45 horses, 67 donkeys, and 137 dogs into this huge plate. For this etching he devised a slanted, cylindrical steel tool that he could wield to achieve a swelling line akin to that of engraving but without the effort. His development of repeated acid baths to etch some lines more deeply than others to achieve the persuasive recession and atmospheric effects for which this print is famous.
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...