Who painted One-Eyed Woman?

One-Eyed Woman was painted by Jacques Callot in 1622.

Where can I see One-Eyed Woman?

One-Eyed Woman is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is One-Eyed Woman?

One-Eyed Woman is associated with Baroque.

Can I buy a print of One-Eyed Woman?

Museum-quality prints of One-Eyed Woman are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

One-Eyed Woman

Jacques Callot , 1622

One-Eyed Woman 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

Jacques Callot’s *One-Eyed Woman* is an early‑17th‑century etching executed on laid paper. Produced around 1622, the print measures the typical size of Callot’s small‑scale works and exemplifies his prolific output, which exceeds fourteen hundred plates. The image portrays a solitary female figure, rendered with the characteristic linear precision that defines Callot’s graphic style.

Subject & Meaning

The composition centers on a standing woman, her posture upright, a cane grasped in one hand and a diminutive object in the other. She wears a long coat that falls to her shoes, while a scarf covers her head. The title’s reference to a single eye suggests a physical abnormality or a symbolic focus on marginality, a theme Callot often explored through depictions of outsiders.

Technique & Style

Callot employed traditional etching, incising lines into a copper plate and allowing ink to settle in the resulting grooves. The process yields a grainy, sketch‑like surface, evident in the rough, scratchy strokes that texture the woman’s face and garments. This method produces a more immediate, drawing‑like quality than the smooth tonalities of painting, emphasizing line over chiaroscuro.

History & Provenance

Created in the artist’s native Duchy of Lorraine, the print was likely circulated among collectors of the period who valued Callot’s detailed observations of everyday life. Though specific ownership records are scarce, the work has been catalogued in major print collections and appears in scholarly surveys of Callot’s oeuvre, confirming its authenticity and dating to the early 1620s.

Context

The piece reflects the Baroque fascination with the extraordinary and the everyday, merging observational accuracy with narrative intrigue.

*One‑Eyed Woman* belongs to a broader series of prints in which Callot documented soldiers, beggars, and courtly figures against meticulously rendered backgrounds. The piece reflects the Baroque fascination with the extraordinary and the everyday, merging observational accuracy with narrative intrigue. Its focus on a singular, atypical subject aligns with the era’s interest in physiognomy and social marginality.