CALLOT, Jacques

Jacques Callot was a master Baroque printmaker and draftsman gaining extensive experience in festival publication during his service with the Medici of Florence, ca. 1612—1620.  In 1621, Callot returned to his home in Nancy, and several years later, was commissioned by the Courts of Lorraine, France and Spain as a master printmaker. In 1627, he was tasked with the recording, staging and design of the major festivel Le Combat à la Barrière in honor of the Duchess of Chevreuse, a favorite of the Duke Of Lorraine, Charles IV.  The festival included various participants arriving on elaborate floats and staging a battle scene with the victory going to the Duke, and his cousin, the Marques de Moy.

Callot produced a series of prints of the event which were later combined with poetry written by Henry Humbert into a publication documenting the festival. The ADA&M’s etching proved too small for inclusion in the publication and was printed in reverse; instead, it was distributed as a souvenir for festival participants and attendees.