Exercise with Drums 1635

Editor: This is Jacques Callot’s "Exercise with Drums," an etching. It's so tiny, but those figures have real presence. I'm curious, what do you make of these drumming figures? Curator: Ah, Callot. He catches the swagger of soldiers perfectly, doesn't he? And, tiny as it is, the repetition creates a rhythm of its own, almost like a musical score. I wonder, do you think Callot is celebrating militarism, or perhaps satirizing it? Editor: Hmm, I hadn't thought of satire, but now I see the possibility. Thanks for pointing that out. Curator: The beauty of art, isn't it? There's always another layer to uncover.