Artwork

Lady in a Large Coat

Lady in a Large Coat, by Jacques Callot, ink, 1622
Lady in a Large Coat, by Jacques Callot, ink, 1622

Lady in a Large Coat is an ink print by the Baroque artist Jacques Callot. It dates from 1622 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

This etching shows a woman in a huge coat, her head tilted slightly. The coat swallows her small body. You can see every fold. Her face is calm but the scene feels urgent.

Jacques Callot made this around 1622. He was one of the first artists to use etching for fashion. The lines look scratchy but they feel alive.

Try looking up Jacques Callot’s other prints next.

Overview

Created circa 1622, *Lady in a Large Coat* is an etching on laid paper by Jacques Callot, a French printmaker active in the Duchy of Lorraine. The image presents a solitary woman whose voluminous outer garment dominates the composition, her head inclined slightly forward. The work exemplifies Callot’s prolific output, which exceeds a thousand printed images documenting early‑17th‑century life.

Subject & Meaning

The figure is rendered in a massive coat that envelops her slender form, emphasizing the contrast between the garment’s bulk and the sitter’s delicate posture. Her expression is composed, yet the surrounding space conveys a sense of immediacy, suggesting a moment of transition or public appearance within a bustling urban setting.

Technique & Style

Callot employed a fine‑lined etching technique, allowing intricate rendering of the coat’s folds and the subtle modeling of the face. The lines, while appearing slightly rough, convey movement and texture, reflecting his early adoption of etching for depicting contemporary dress. The precision of the drawing aligns with the baroque interest in detail and narrative depth.

History & Provenance

Part of Callot’s extensive series of prints that recorded courtly and everyday scenes, this piece belongs to the tradition of old‑master prints valued for their documentary quality. Produced during a period when the artist was pioneering the use of etching to capture fashion, the work has been cited in studies of early modern visual culture and remains in several public collections.

Artist & collection

Portrait of Jacques Callot

Artist

Jacques Callot

Jacques Callot was a baroque printmaker and draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine.

This work is in the public domain (CC0). Image source: National Gallery of Art open access. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.