Harris Schrank Fine Prints
Jacques Callot's Spectacular Combat at the Barrier
Jacques Callot's Spectacular Combat at the Barrier
Jacques Callot (1582-1635)
Jacques Callot (1582-1635), the renowned French printmaker, was commissioned in 1627 to illustrate the magnificent festival in honor of the beautiful Duchess of Chevreuse, who was in exile at the Lorraine court after the discovery of her part in a plot against Richelieu.
The ten etchings of the Combat at the Barrier set illustrate the magnificent chariots and floats accompanying the luminaries as they entered the tournament arena, as well as the arena itself during the joust for the favor of the Duchess between the Duke Charles IV of Lorraine and the Prince of Phalsbourg.
Image Credit:
Jacques Callot, Combat à la Barriére, detail
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Jacques Callot, Combat à la Barriére, detail
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Jacques Callot, Combat à la Barriére, detail
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Jacques Callot, Combat à la Barriére, detail
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Entrance of Henry of Lorraine
Callot
1627
153 x 242 mm
etching
Chariots are followed by floats of large birds, and an angry giant lizard.
Callot
Entrance of the Duke Charles IV
1627
153 x 242 mm
etching
Also known as Entry of His Highness Representing the Sun
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Callot
Parade on Foot
1627
153 x 242 mm
etching
The box for ladies is at the left, the Duchess in the front row; above the crowd is a cloud machine from which light blazes.
Callot
The Combat at the Barrier
1627
153 x 242
etching
The culminating plate, with the 2 combatants, the cloud at the right along with the parked festival carts.
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Jacques Callot began his artistic career as an apprentice engraver in Rome, but his career blossomed in Florence, where he learned the process of etching, inventing new etching techniques, and eventually becoming a towering figure in the art of printmaking. By 1627, the year of the “Combat”, his fame was well-established; he had created many sets of prints such as the Beggars, the Balli di Sfessania, sets of the Large and Small Passions, Capricci, as well as well-known individual plates such as The Fan and the massive Fair at Impruneta, which many consider the most accomplished etching ever made.
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