Who painted St. Dympna; St. Peregrinus; St. Restituta; St. Dioscorus?

St. Dympna; St. Peregrinus; St. Restituta; St. Dioscorus was painted by Jacques Callot in 1634.

Where can I see St. Dympna; St. Peregrinus; St. Restituta; St. Dioscorus?

St. Dympna; St. Peregrinus; St. Restituta; St. Dioscorus is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is St. Dympna; St. Peregrinus; St. Restituta; St. Dioscorus?

St. Dympna; St. Peregrinus; St. Restituta; St. Dioscorus is associated with Baroque.

Artwork

St. Dympna; St. Peregrinus; St. Restituta; St. Dioscorus

Jacques Callot , 1634

St. Dympna; St. Peregrinus; St. Restituta; St. Dioscorus is an ink print by the Baroque artist Jacques Callot. It dates from 1634 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created circa 1634, this etching on laid paper presents four distinct oval vignettes, each illustrating a different saint.

About this work

Overview

Created circa 1634, this etching on laid paper presents four distinct oval vignettes, each illustrating a different saint.

Created circa 1634, this etching on laid paper presents four distinct oval vignettes, each illustrating a different saint. The compositions are rendered in fine, intricate lines that give the images a delicate, slightly textured appearance. Jacques Callot, a French printmaker active in the early seventeenth century, executed the work as part of his extensive output of religious and secular subjects.

Subject & Meaning

Each panel focuses on a separate holy figure—St. Dymma, St. Peregrine, St. Restituta, and St. Dioscorus—showing them in moments of devotion or martyrdom. The scenes include a kneeling figure, a sword‑bearing saint, a pilgrim in a wide‑brimmed hat among a crowd, a ship bearing a cross, and a standing figure holding a cross‑topped pole, suggesting narratives of sacrifice, pilgrimage, and steadfast faith.

Technique & Style

The work employs the etching process, in which Callot incised the design into a copper plate before printing onto laid paper. His characteristic use of fine, cross‑hatched lines creates a detailed yet slightly rough texture, allowing subtle modeling of figures and architectural elements within the confined oval frames.

History & Provenance

Produced during Callot’s prolific period in the Duchy of Lorraine, the print reflects his broader interest in documenting contemporary religious iconography. While the original ownership trail is not fully recorded, the piece belongs to the corpus of over 1,400 etchings that circulated among collectors and patrons in the mid‑seventeenth century.

Context

The early 1630s saw heightened demand for devotional imagery amid the Counter‑Reformation, and Callot’s prints catered to both private devotion and the market for illustrated religious literature. The inclusion of multiple saints in a single sheet aligns with the period’s practice of compiling didactic visual programs for contemplation.