Exhibition of works by Jacques Callot opens at the Kunsthalle Mannheim
(Artdaily.org)

He is a master of the art of etching: Jacques Callot (Nancy 1592–1635) is considered to be one of the most important late Mannerist copper engravers of the early 17th century. He worked for Cosimo di Medici in Florence and later for the courts in Lorraine and Paris, the Netherlands and Spain. That he achieved international fame – as an artist without any paintings, but exclusively as a result of his etchings – is quite remarkable. Callot loved theatrical grotesques and elegant court scenes, while setting new standards with his war scenes from the Thirty Years’ War. His works thrive on his inexhaustible attention to detail which the etcher has lent a captivating presence, and – despite their small size – monumentality. In order to achieve this level of precision in his pictures Callot invented new etching techniques as well as employing stage-by-stage acid