Artwork
Old Beggar with One Crutch
Old Beggar with One Crutch is an ink print by the Baroque artist French 17th Century. It dates from 1622 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Old Beggar with One Crutch is an etching on laid paper depicting a hunched figure with a crutch.
Subject & Meaning
The print shows a beggar leaning on a crutch, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and heavy coat. The figure's body is largely obscured, with one hand grasping the crutch and the other resting on their knee.
Technique & Style
The etching features rough, busy lines that give the fabric and folds a dynamic appearance. Sharp, uneven strokes convey wear and movement in the clothing, characteristic of the etching technique, where ink is scratched into a metal plate.
Artist & collection
Artist
Seventeenth-century French printmakers turned ink into story. Their tools were burin and acid, paper their stage. Look at the Beggar Woman with Rosary (1622), etched on laid paper, her hands folded around faith, or The…
