View Of The Louvre, Jacques Callot (nancy, 1592 – 1635)

View of the Louvre (MEAUME 0713). Late proof. On the water, lower left, beneath a boat, is the inscription: Callot fec.
Taken from the left bank of the Seine, this vast river view, teeming with a throng of people and bustling with traffic, testifies to Jacques Callot's virtuosity in the art of the urban scene. Here, he displays his taste for panoramic compositions where topographical accuracy is combined with a theatrical staging. In the center, the wide waterway structures the space and organizes the movement of figures: light boats on which boatmen are preparing to joust, merchant vessels, silhouettes, and horsemen busy on the banks. All are captured with the keen sense of observation and narrative detail that Callot demonstrates. The monumental building stretching across the opposite bank is none other than the Louvre Palace, recognizable by its architectural grandeur and the regularity of its façades.
This engraving comes from the series Views of Paris, a set of prints that Callot produced in the late 1620s and early 1630s, probably at the behest of Parisian patrons who appreciated both the topography of the capital and the narrative talent of the Lorraine engraver. These views, which do not constitute a strictly homogeneous series but rather a coherent group in terms of subject matter and style, testify to Callot's interest in lively urban landscapes.
The whole demonstrates Callot's mastery of the burin and etching techniques: a network of fine, vibrant lines that lends the scene a continuous energy. More than just an urban scene, the engraving offers a true drama of everyday life, where each figure contributes to the life of a city that is both real and transfigured by the engraver's gaze.

Our engraving is framed with a mat and under anti-reflective, UV-protective glass.
Dimension of engraving: 16 x 32,2 cm