His works make the viewer wish for a magnifying glass: His engravings are laden with details and lavishly rendered intricacies. Jacques Callot (1592–1635) is known as the early seventeenth century’s most significant late mannerist engraver. He worked for Cosimo di Medici in Florence and later for the royal courts of Lothringen, Paris, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Few other artists have succeeded in attaining world renown through their engraving artistry. Callot loved theatrical grotesques and elegant courtly scenes. His works are characterized by a tireless richness of detail that the beloved engraver endowed with a sense of monumentalism and captivating presence. His Disasters of War cycle has influenced artists from Francisco de Goya to Otto Dix. His oeuvre includes 1,428 graphic works; with its 500 engraving, the Kunsthalle Mannheim holds a good third of this total. In the exhibition CALLOT: Graphic Monuments, the Kunsthalle Mannheim presents approximately 100 prints by Jacques Callot for the first time. Numerous prints have been restored ahead of the exhibition thanks to generous support from the Landesstelle für Museumsbetreuung Baden-Württemberg.

Curator: Dr. Thomas Köllhofer