Reverse Copy of Le Gentilhomme au Grand Manteau, Vu de Dos (Gentleman with a Large Mantle, Viewed from Behind), from "Les Caprices" Series A, The Florence Set 1620 - 1700

This print, etched by an anonymous artist, reproduces an image from Jacques Callot’s series of etchings called "Les Caprices." It was part of a set made in Florence, Italy, likely sometime in the 17th century. The image depicts a gentleman, fashionably dressed in a large mantle and feathered hat, viewed from behind. The "Caprices," or whims, were images of commedia dell’arte figures and aristocratic characters, of soldiers and beggars. Callot made these to be acquired and pasted into albums by collectors, who were mostly members of the aristocracy. This copy of the image speaks to the institutional networks by which imagery spread. It shows how the art market developed in Europe, expanding the circulation of images and styles through prints like this one. The historian can look to these images, and to the collections they once inhabited, in order to better understand the visual culture of the 17th century. They reveal how that culture was shared, and who had access to it.