Callot Jacques (French, Nancy 1592–1635 Nancy)

After staying in Florence from 1612 to 1621, Jacques Callot returned to Nancy. There his aspiration of becoming the first artist of the Duke’s court was prevented by the presence of Claude Deruet and his hold on every decorative project in Nancy. He had to be satisfied with a less prestigious role as an illustrator and to work in an unrivalled field, that of etching.

However, the presence of Gaston of Orléans in Nancy until his marriage with Marguerite de Lorraine in 1632 gave him the opportunity to become his drawing master and to find a powerful patron. 

Callot made for himself a series of drawings, mainly landscapes. Most of them are gathered in a book today at Chatsworth. Some are preparatory to the Livre des paysages (Book of Landscapes), edited as a book of prints. For the Chatsworth album, Daniel Ternois distinguished the drawings by Callot and by his workshop. In the same way, he comprised in his Catalogue Raisonné under ‘drawings for Gaston of Orléans’ the sheets from the same period which were not engraved, but obviously by Callot. The present sheet belongs to this group under no. 1350.

EntitledRustic Landscape or Rural Landscape, this drawing is a vast panoramic view of the countryside, and as is often the case, stretched over its full width with successive foregrounds to avoid any impression of depth. The use of yellow bistre wash, more luminous and subtler than in other drawings, accentuates the atmospheric effect at the expense of the usual definition of volumes. 

This specific character, in addition to the reverse presenting a view of a fortified city with many domes and campaniles, i.e. strictly Italian architectures, could suggest a source of inspiration rather than a real view. This aspect of the present sheet deserves to be emphasized and reintroduces the importance of landscape in the 1630s. 

Previously, Flemish models prevailed in the composition of landscape. Callot provides here an essential contribution to the depiction of atmospheric perspective, which culminates in Paris with La Hyre and Patel to reach its most complete expression with Claude Lorrain, Callot’s fellow Frenchman who had stayed in Rome but was still in touch with the milieu of Parisian connoisseurs. 

Nicolas Sainte Fare Garnot, La Passion du Dessin, Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André, 2002, p. 120 (translated from French)