The Carrying of the Cross

c. 1618

Jacques Callot

Associated Names
Jacques Callot

Artist, French, 1592 - 1635

This is a drawing of a crowded scene at a city gate. The composition is full of intricately detailed figures, both mounted and on foot, engaged in a bustling activity. In the foreground, a structure with an archway labeled "S PORT" serves as an entry point, through which a stream of soldiers and individuals carrying large spears or pike-like weapons are moving. Several figures are mounted on horseback. The background shows a rugged landscape with more people gathered along the ridges in groups, as well as a complex of distant city architecture with towers and domes visible above the throng. A small dog is depicted in the lower center of the image. The drawing features strong linework that enhances the texture of both the figures and the landscape. The inscription below the scene adds a textual element.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    R.L. Baumfeld Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 11.6 × 21.5 cm (4 9/16 × 8 7/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1969.15.53

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lieure, no. 286, State i/iii


Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1963

  • Jacques Callot: a selection of prints from the collections of Rudolf L. Baumfeld and Lessing J. Rosenwald, NGA, 1963, no. 15f.

1975

  • Jacques Callot: Prints and Related Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1975, no. 168, repro.

Bibliography

1860

  • Meaume 17.

1924

  • Lieure, J. Jacques Callot. 5 vols. Paris: Editions de la Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1924-1927. Reprint. 8 vols. New York: Collectors' Editions, 1969.

1975

  • Russell 1975, 168.

Inscriptions

lower left in plate: Jac. Callot in. et Fe; lower center in plate: Quid Simon huic tentas onerj succedere, solus / Ille potest tantae pondera ferre crucis (O Simon, why are you tr

Wikidata ID

Q65509049

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