Les Grandes Misères de la guerre
Encyclopedia
Les Grandes Misères de la guerre (le ɡʁɑ̃d mizɛʁ də la ɡɛʁ, The Great Miseries of War or The Miseries and Misfortunes of War) are a series of 18 etching
s by French artist Jacques Callot
(1592–1635), titled in full "Les Misères et les Malheurs de la Guerre". Despite the grand theme of the series, the images are in fact only about 83 mm x 180 mm each, and are called the "large" Miseries to distinguish them from an even smaller earlier set on the same subject. The series, published in 1633, is Callot's best-known work and has been called the first "anti-war statement" in European art. Les Grand Misères depict the destruction unleashed on civilians during the Thirty Years' War
; no specific campaign is depicted, but the set inevitably recalls the actions of the army that Cardinal Richelieu sent in 1633 to occupy Callot's native Lorraine
before annexing it to France. Callot was living in the capital, Nancy, at the time, though the prints were published, like most of his work, in Paris, with the necessary royal licence. The plates still exist, in a museum in Nancy, as do seven drawings of whole compositions, and many tiny studies for figures, with a large group in the Hermitage Museum
.
The series begins with a florid title page, followed by an enrollment parade and a battle scene. Plates 4–8 show bands of the victorious soldiers successively attacking a farm, convent, and coach, and burning a village. In plates 9–14 they are rounded up and subjected to various methods of public torture and execution. Plate 15 shows crippled soldiers in a grand neo-classical hospital, Plate 16 unemployed soldiers dying in the street, and Plate 17 the peasants taking revenge on a group they have captured, killing them with flail
s. Plate 18 shows an enthroned king distributing rewards to the victorious generals. Each print has a six-line verse caption below the image, written by the famous print-collector Michel de Marolles
. All show wide panoramic views, with many tiny figures, as is typical of Callot's work. The technique of using multiple bitings of acid on the plate, with different areas "stopped-out", was perfected by Callot. This method allows gradations in the strength of the line, with distant parts of the scene usually lighter.
The central image of the wheel of fortune in William Hogarth
's early engraving Emblematical Print on the South Sea Scheme
is a parody of La Pendaison. Francisco Goya
probably owned a set of Callot's etchings, and they are believed to have influenced his similar series, Los Desastres de la Guerra (The Disasters of War), almost two centuries later.
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
s by French artist Jacques Callot
Jacques Callot
Jacques Callot was a baroque printmaker and draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine . He is an important figure in the development of the old master print...
(1592–1635), titled in full "Les Misères et les Malheurs de la Guerre". Despite the grand theme of the series, the images are in fact only about 83 mm x 180 mm each, and are called the "large" Miseries to distinguish them from an even smaller earlier set on the same subject. The series, published in 1633, is Callot's best-known work and has been called the first "anti-war statement" in European art. Les Grand Misères depict the destruction unleashed on civilians during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
; no specific campaign is depicted, but the set inevitably recalls the actions of the army that Cardinal Richelieu sent in 1633 to occupy Callot's native Lorraine
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....
before annexing it to France. Callot was living in the capital, Nancy, at the time, though the prints were published, like most of his work, in Paris, with the necessary royal licence. The plates still exist, in a museum in Nancy, as do seven drawings of whole compositions, and many tiny studies for figures, with a large group in the Hermitage Museum
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
.
The series begins with a florid title page, followed by an enrollment parade and a battle scene. Plates 4–8 show bands of the victorious soldiers successively attacking a farm, convent, and coach, and burning a village. In plates 9–14 they are rounded up and subjected to various methods of public torture and execution. Plate 15 shows crippled soldiers in a grand neo-classical hospital, Plate 16 unemployed soldiers dying in the street, and Plate 17 the peasants taking revenge on a group they have captured, killing them with flail
Flail
A flail is an agricultural implement for threshing.Several tools operate similarly to the agricultural implement and are also called flails:...
s. Plate 18 shows an enthroned king distributing rewards to the victorious generals. Each print has a six-line verse caption below the image, written by the famous print-collector Michel de Marolles
Michel de Marolles
Michel de Marolles , known as the abbé de Marolles, was a French churchman and translator, known for his collection of engravings. He became a monk in 1610 and later was abbot of Villeloin . He was the author of many translations of Latin poets and was part of many salons, notably that of Madeleine...
. All show wide panoramic views, with many tiny figures, as is typical of Callot's work. The technique of using multiple bitings of acid on the plate, with different areas "stopped-out", was perfected by Callot. This method allows gradations in the strength of the line, with distant parts of the scene usually lighter.
The central image of the wheel of fortune in William Hogarth
William Hogarth
William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
's early engraving Emblematical Print on the South Sea Scheme
Emblematical Print on the South Sea Scheme
Emblematical Print on the South Sea Scheme is an early print by William Hogarth, created in 1721 and widely published from 1724. It caricatures the financial speculation, corruption and credulity that caused the South Sea Bubble in England in 1720–1.-Background:The South Sea Company was a British...
is a parody of La Pendaison. Francisco Goya
Francisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era...
probably owned a set of Callot's etchings, and they are believed to have influenced his similar series, Los Desastres de la Guerra (The Disasters of War), almost two centuries later.