CALLOT, JACQUES (French, 1592-1635) "La Place du Dome à Florence" (Piazza del Duomo, Florence) From I Capricci. First Edition, First State, Published in Florence in 1617-18, one of a series of 50 etchings (Lieure 260A), dedicated to Lorenzo de' Medici. Etching on fine laid paper, 2 1/8" x 3 3/16"; 9 x 10 ½" (framed). Price Category: B

CALLOT, JACQUES (French, 1592-1635) "La Place du Dome à Florence" (Piazza del Duomo, Florence) From I Capricci. First Edition, First State, published in Florence in 1617-18, one of a series of 50 etchings (Lieure 260A), dedicated to Lorenzo de' Medici. Etching on fine laid paper, 2 1/8" x 3 3/16"; 9 x 10 ½" (framed). Price Category: B Jacques Callot, who was born in Nancy in 1592, is France's greatest etcher and one of the most significant graphic artists of all time. He was one of the first artists to portray all segments of society through his universe of miniature figures. The lifelike quality of his figures and the skill with which he arranged complicated groups made him the pioneer of methods followed by Rembrandt and his forerunners. Callot revolutionized the art of print making. He developed an innovative technique in which he used a new kind of hard varnish surface for the ground of his etching plate. This surface made it possible to produce a wide variety of narrow lines (somewhat similar to those produced by the engraving burin), and as a result his work took on greater expressive freedom and sophistication. A second advance was his practice of making repeated bitings. He is the first etcher to use this technique as a means of creating effects of light and space, a topic of special interest to the Italian Mannerist painters, with whom he was familiar. Callot's I Capricci, published in Florence about 1617, is generally recognized as a turning point in the development of the artist's style and the beginning of his mature work. The dominant mood of these small masterpieces (each plate was 2" high and 3" wide) is one of gaiety and animation. Callot published the series as a small booklet, which he dedicated to Prince Lorenzo de' Medici, brother to Cosimo. Describing their impact, Esther Averil writes: "People who encountered Callot's talent for the first time in The Caprices were struck by the artist's abilities: liveliness, grace of style, and an unrivaled variety of skills with the etching needle. These skills rendered so many fascinating, microscopic details that one could not fully appreciate them without a magnifying glass." Indeed, Callot himself must have used a magnifying glass while he was creating these etchings. He was a friend of Galileo and probably had access to the best instruments of magnification available during his day. There is an additional element of fascination to this tiny masterpiece: if you look closely, you can make out a faint finger print in the lower central portion of the picture. The artist probably lifted the paper between his thumb and forefinger before the ink was completely dry. Callot produced over 1,000 etchings during his short life-he died at age 42. Today his work is represented in many of the world's finest museums. Provenance: St. Luke's Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Ex-Collection of Romana Javitz, late Director of Pictures, New York Public Library. References: Esther Averill, Eyes on the World: The Story and Work of Jacques Callot (Funk & Wagnalls: New York, 1969). Howard Daniel, The World of Jacques Callot (Lear Publishers: New York, n.d.). Arthur M. Hind, A History of Engraving and Etching, from the 15th Century to the Year 1914 (Dover: New York, 1963). Sarah B. Kirk and Britt Salvesen, The Incisive Imaginatin: Jacques Callot and His Contemporaries (Milwaukee Art Museum Exhibition Catalog, 2004). Jules Lieure, Jacques Callot: Catalogue de l"Oeuvre Gravé (Editions de la Gazette des Beaux-Arts: Paris, 1924). Elizabeth Mongan, Jacques Callot: A Selection of Prints from the Collections of Rudolf Baumfeld and Lessing Rosenwald (National Gallery of Art: Washington, D.C., 1963). H. Diane Russel, Jacques Callot: Prints and Related Drawings (National Gallery of Art: Washington, D.C., 1975). George Sadoul, Jacques Callot: Miroir de son Temps (Gallimard: Paris). Thomas Shroëder, Jacques Callot: Das Gesamte Werk (Rogner & Bernard).

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