JACQUES CALLOT
6>j An Army Leaving a Castle
Brush and brown wash and black chalk; H: 10. i cm (4
in.); W: 21.8 cm (8*/i6in.)
85.00.294
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS! None.
PROVENANCE: Sale, Sotheby's, London, July 2, 1984, lot
94 ; art market, London.
EXHIBITIONS: None.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: None.THE SUBJECT OF THIS SCENE HAS NOT BEEN IDENTI-
fied. It shows a procession of figures, many carrying
arms, leaving a castle or walled city. The setting appears
to be Eastern, given the inclusion of a number of camels.
In addition, the figures and animals are bearing various
bundles and chests as well as flags and arms. It is con-
ceivable that Callot simply meant to represent an army
setting off for battle, but he may have intended a more
specific theme. The characterization of the marching fig-
ures and animals is reminiscent of those shown in his
print Crossing of the Red Sea (I63O),^1 in which the presence
of camels denotes the locale. Lastly, the rich use of wash
and dramatic compositional rhythms recur in a number
of the artist's drawings of this period, including several
for The Miseries of War.^2- J. Lieure, Jacques Callot: Catalogue de son oeuvregrave (Paris,
1927), vol. 3, no. 665. - D. Ternois, Jacques Callot: Catalogue complet de son oeuvre des-
sine (Paris, 1962), nos. 915-920.
64 A View of Mountains
across a Lake
Brush and brown wash and black chalk; H: 9.9 cm (3^15 /i6
in.); W: 22.1 cm (8XI/i6in.)
85.00.295
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: None.
PROVENANCE: Sale, Sotheby's, London, July 2, 1984, lot
95 ; art market, London.
EXHIBITIONS: None.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: None.COMPLEX AND HIGHLY EXPRESSIVE ROCK FORMATIONS
such as these recur often in Callot's prints and drawings.^1
Here Callot has made such formations the subject of the
drawing, rendered with sensitively observed effects of
light and shade achieved through a carefully modulated
use of wash. The sheet is closest in spirit and handling to
several of his late landscapes, such as another with a
rocky seashore and view of mountains in the British Mu-
seum, London (inv. Add.34).^2- See, for example, J. Lieure, Jacques Callot: Catalogue de son
oeuvre grave (Paris, 1927), vol. i, nos. 276-277. - D. Ternois, Jacques Callot: Catalogue complet de son oeuvre des-
sine (Paris, 1962), no. 1322.
148 FRENCH SCHOOL • CALLOT