Artwork

St. Ursula and Companions; St. Mary Salome; St. Severinus; St. Maglorius

St. Ursula and Companions; St. Mary Salome; St. Severinus; St. Maglorius 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.

About this work

Overview

Created circa 1634, this work by Jacques Callot consists of four small oval etchings, each portraying a different saint—Ursula, Mary Salome, Severinus, and Maglorius. Executed on laid paper, the pieces are bound together as a single composition that juxtaposes devotional portraiture with a compact, narrative format typical of Callot’s prolific print output.

Subject & Meaning

Each vignette isolates a holy figure engaged in a distinct gesture: Ursula is shown with a martyr’s cross, Mary Salome holds a book, Severinus appears in prayer, and Maglorius is depicted in a contemplative pose. The selection of saints reflects a range of martyrdom, scholarship, and asceticism, inviting viewers to contemplate varied aspects of sanctity within a unified visual program.

Technique & Style

Bold outlines define the saints, while delicate shading suggests volume, demonstrating Callot’s mastery of line to convey depth on a modestly sized sheet.

Callot employed traditional etching, incising lines into a copper plate before applying acid to reveal the image. The artist’s hallmark cross‑hatching creates subtle tonal gradations, giving the figures a sculptural presence despite the minimal background. Bold outlines define the saints, while delicate shading suggests volume, demonstrating Callot’s mastery of line to convey depth on a modestly sized sheet.

History & Provenance

The piece belongs to Callot’s extensive corpus of more than 1,400 prints that document early‑17th‑century life, ranging from military scenes to religious subjects. Produced in the Duchy of Lorraine, the work likely circulated among collectors of devotional prints. Its survival on laid paper indicates careful preservation, and it now resides in a museum collection dedicated to early modern graphic arts.