Who painted The Potbellied Man with the Tall Hat?

The Potbellied Man with the Tall Hat was painted by Jacques Callot in 1622.

Where can I see The Potbellied Man with the Tall Hat?

The Potbellied Man with the Tall Hat is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is The Potbellied Man with the Tall Hat?

The Potbellied Man with the Tall Hat is associated with Baroque.

Artwork

The Potbellied Man with the Tall Hat

Jacques Callot , 1622

The Potbellied Man with the Tall Hat 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, *The Potbellied Man with the Tall Hat* is an early‑17th‑century print by Jacques Callot, a prolific French printmaker from Lorraine. Executed in a combination of etching and engraving on laid paper, the image presents a stout, round‑faced figure wearing an oversized, feather‑adorned hat and loose garments, clutching a long staff.

Subject & Meaning

The composition depicts a corpulent man with a serious, almost sour expression, small moustache and large eyes. His exaggerated posture and attire suggest a satirical study of a particular social type, likely a caricature of a beggar or street character common in Callot’s visual surveys of everyday life.

Technique & Style

Callot employed a metal plate, first incising lines with a needle for the etching phase, then reinforcing details through engraving. The resulting marks are rough, scratchy, and appear swiftly rendered, characteristic of the artist’s practice of producing lively, informal studies that emphasize immediacy and humor.

History & Provenance

The print belongs to Callot’s extensive output of more than 1,400 works, many of which document soldiers, beggars, and court figures. While specific ownership records for this sheet are scarce, it is representative of the series of genre prints that circulated in early modern Europe as both artistic and social commentary.

Context

During the Baroque period, French and Lorraine artists increasingly used printmaking to disseminate observations of contemporary society. Callot’s prints, including this one, blend detailed landscape elements with crowded figures, reflecting a broader interest in portraying the diversity of urban life and its various social strata.