Exhibition of one painting "The Magic Mirror of Jacques Callot. To the 430th Anniversary of the Artist’s Birth" Automatic translate

On January 19, the Kaluga Museum of Fine Arts (Lenin St., 104, main exposition) opens an exhibition of one painting “The Magic Mirror of Jacques Callot. To the 430th anniversary of the artist’s birth.

“Anyone who is curious to go beyond the magic circle of Callo’s art, look into his magic mirror, will see with unprecedented clarity the whole life of that time, will be amazed at the sincerity with which it is conveyed, and will be amazed at the means by which this impression was achieved… Passing through the pen and the chisel of Callot, the forms of life took on a completely new look, some kind of “masquerade of life” turned out, under the guise of which, however, not dolls, but genuine human souls continued to live… ”(Alexandre Benois).

Jacques Callot (1592 - 1635), French engraver and draftsman, one of the most brilliant graphic artists of all time, was born in 1592 in Nancy to a noble family. Callot mastered the art of engraving in Nancy with the jeweler Demange Croc and the glass painter Claude Henrie. Legend has it that as a boy, Callo, having joined the gypsies, fled to Italy and studied painting with Remigio Cantagallina in Florence. It is known that in Rome he studied the technique of engraving with Antonio Tempesta and Philip Thomassen. In 1611, Callo moved to Florence, where he began working in the studio of the artist and director of court festivities, Giulio Parigi. Here, in Florence, he began to attend performances of the Italian square theater, which made a great impression on him.

Jacques Callot developed his own special, "theatrical" style, which had a huge impact on his students and followers. His compositions are distinguished by a sharp contrast between the figures of the foreground and background, bright details, as well as unusual angles that expand the space to fantastic limits. The truthful reproduction of figures and events is combined in Callo with fantasy (a series of etchings "Capriccia" and "The Hunchback").

Callot introduced a new etching technique that allowed him to make very small figures and draw details. In order to draw even furrows of the required thickness with a needle, he used hard (“Florentine”) varnish in etching. Such a varnish made it possible to carry out repeated etching of the “board” (printing form) in order to achieve the greatest accuracy of the pattern and softness of tonal transitions. During his short life, Callo created about 1,500 prints, mostly in etching technique.

Callo’s compositions subsequently became a source of inspiration not only for artists, but also for writers, such as T. A. Hoffmann, who created his "Fantasy in the manner of Callo." The artist’s work was highly appreciated by his colleagues. It is known that his etchings were collected by Rembrandt, David Teniers the Younger, Anthony van Dyck.

The Breland Play is one of two artificially lit night scenes created by Jacques Callot in 1629 or 1630 after a tour of Flanders. In this case, Kallo solves the extremely difficult task of rendering light and shadow in a night scene where the space is only locally lit. In its style, this work is close to the works of the Utrecht caravagist Gerrit van Honthorst, who received the Italian nickname “Gerardo of the Night” for depicting night scenes. The etching by Callot depicts cheaters playing cards with a young man who personifies the so-called "prodigal son". There is a version that the artist depicted himself in the image of the “prodigal son”, and his wife in the image of a courtesan. A copy of the etching by Callot was made between 1628 and 1680. in the Paris engraving workshop of Pierre Mariette the Elder (1603 - 1657).

The series "Lorraine nobility", executed in 1624, includes 12 etchings, including a sheet presented at the exhibition under the code name "Cavalier with folded hands".