Gobbi and Other Bizarre Figures

1616 /1617

Jacques Callot

Associated Names
Jacques Callot

Artist, French, 1592 - 1635

The image shows a collection of sweeping, curving lines and irregular shapes forming an abstract composition. The lines intersect and flow across the canvas. Some shapes loosely resemble distorted human faces and figures, possibly wearing hats, with hints of figures in motion or masks with exaggerated expressions. The overall effect is a dynamic scattering of forms that encourages viewers to find familiar shapes within the chaos.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and iron gall ink with a partial sketch in graphite at upper left on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 12 x 14.1 cm (4 3/4 x 5 9/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2003.6.1.a

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Ternois 1962, no. 53

Associated Artworks

The image shows a sketch of a human figure in a side-profile view from the upper thigh down, including one leg. The figure appears to be standing. Facial features, hair, clothing, or specific objects are not detailed. Surrounding the figure are additional light sketches of an animal head and abstract shapes. The background has a lightly speckled paper texture, indicating this may be from a sketchbook or similar document.

A Leg and a Pig's Head

Jacques Callot

1616

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Gosselin collection, Paris; purchased by Winslow Ames, Springfield, MO, 1946; sold by him to Schaeffer Gallery, New York, 1954; at another American gallery by 1962 (according to Ternois 1962); private collection (sale, Christie's, Paris, 21 March 2002; bought in); sale, Christie's, Paris, 27 November 2002, no. 134; (via Paul Prouté, S.A., Paris); purchased 2002 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2009

  • Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2009, 46-47, 276, no. 14 (color; recto and verso).

2018

  • Sense of Humor: Caricature, Satire, and the Comical in Prints and Drawings from Leonardo to the Present, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2018 - 2019.

Bibliography

1962

  • Ternois, Daniel. Jacques Callot, catalogue complet de son oeuvre dessine. Paris, 1962: 51, no. 53 (recto reproduced).

  • Ternois, Daniel. L'art de Jacques Callot. Paris, 1962: 111, 112, 114, 130, pl. 4a (recto).

Inscriptions

numbered in graphite at lower left: 111

Markings

none

Watermarks

none

Wikidata ID

Q64580105

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