Who painted Man with Sword?

Man with Sword was painted by Jacques Callot in 1622.

Where can I see Man with Sword?

Man with Sword is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Man with Sword?

Man with Sword is associated with Baroque.

Artwork

Man with Sword

Jacques Callot , 1622

Man with Sword 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

Overview

Created circa 1622, *Man with Sword* is an etching on laid paper by Jacques Callot, a prolific French printmaker of the early Baroque period. The work belongs to Callot’s extensive catalog of more than a thousand prints, which together document a wide range of contemporary scenes from military life to everyday street activity.

Subject & Meaning

The composition presents two figures dressed in elaborate, early‑17th‑century attire; one grasps a sword while the other holds a hat. Their stiff, high‑collared garments and puffed sleeves emphasize status and fashion of the era, hinting at a martial or ceremonial context that reflects Callot’s interest in the social roles of soldiers and courtiers.

Technique & Style

The print combines finely rendered figures with a loosely suggested landscape background, a hallmark of Callot’s balanced detail and atmospheric space.

Callot employed a traditional copper‑plate etching process, incising the image with a sharp needle, filling the lines with ink, and pressing the plate onto laid paper. The resulting marks are rapid and slightly irregular, conveying a sense of immediacy. The print combines finely rendered figures with a loosely suggested landscape background, a hallmark of Callot’s balanced detail and atmospheric space.

History & Provenance

The print emerged from Callot’s broader effort to chronicle the military and social realities of his time, a project that produced a diverse body of work ranging from battlefield scenes to depictions of beggars. While specific ownership records for this particular sheet are scarce, it is catalogued among the artist’s early prints that were widely circulated among collectors in the 17th and 18th centuries.