Follower of Jacques Callot, first half of the 18th century Ascent to Calvary Oil on oak panel, 33 x 48 cm With Frame, 54 x 67 cm The legend tells of a young man of noble spirit, Jacques Callot, who, animated by an irrepressible passion for the figurative arts, disdained the comforts of a wealthy home to pursue the dream of Rome, the cradle of the muses. Twice, defying paternal authority, he left his native home to go to the court of the Duke of Lorraine, where the expectation of an existence more in line with his artistic ideals beckoned him. Callot's career is divided into an Italian period (c. 1609-21) and a Lorraine period (France) (from 1621 until his death). In 1608 he was in Rome, under the expert guidance of the engraver Philippe Thomassin; here the young Callot began to refine his technique, dedicating himself to reproducing majestic works, jealously guarded in the sacred abodes of the Eternal City. With an almost Carthusian acumen, he immersed himself in the study of Flemish masters and refined Mannerists, absorbing their style and mastery. His artistic career experienced an unexpected brilliance in 1612, when he was enthusiastically welcomed to the sophisticated court of the Medici in Florence. In that environment of exquisite elegance, Callot's talent found fertile ground. With an incisive stroke and unparalleled wit, he created a nuanced work, portraying scenes of daily life with surprising veracity: exuberant fairs, opulent festivals, representations of the commedia dell'arte, grotesque figures and beggars, vain courtiers and hunchbacks with contorted faces. After the death of Duke Cosimo II in 1621, Callot returned to Nancy, where, in the service of the Lorraine court, he continued to paint and engrave, shaping fanciful visions and scenes of everyday life. Unfortunately, most of his painted works have been lost, leaving us only an echo of his extraordinary abilities. In Nancy, the artist deepened his artistic research, tackling more challenging and mature themes. Alongside representations of worldly life, he dedicated himself to religious subjects, compositions depicting the horrors of war, and landscapes of poignant beauty. In 1633, deeply shaken by the war events that were upsetting Europe and by the invasion of Lorraine by Cardinal Richelieu, Callot created a series of engravings that forcefully denounced the atrocities of war, calling it Les Grandes Misères de la guerre, composed of 18 prints published in 1633. His works, full of crude and painful realism, anticipate Goya's famous "Disasters of War" by almost two centuries, revealing a sensitivity and a capacity for psychological analysis that place him among the greatest artists of his time. Caillot was able to develop a naturalistic style while preserving the artificiality of the occasion, organizing a composition as if it were a stage and reducing the figures to a tiny scale, each indicated by the fewest strokes possible. This required a very fine engraving technique. His breadth of observation, his lively figure style, and his ability to bring a large moving crowd together ensured his engravings a lasting popular influence throughout Europe. The splendid panel presented here is the most faithful version of the engraving made by Jacques Caillot of the same subject. Every element is faithfully reproduced with skill and expertise.