Saint Carpus c. 17th century

Curator: Let's turn our attention to "Saint Carpus" by Jacques Callot. Editor: It's a stark little thing. The etching is so precise, yet there's a vulnerability in the saint's upward gaze. Curator: Indeed. Callot, who lived from 1592 to 1635, was a master of etching. Think about the materials: the metal plate, the acid, the paper. These were the tools used to spread religious imagery and political messaging. Editor: The socio-political context! It's tied to the Counter-Reformation, surely? Carpus was a bishop, and images like these reinforced Catholic identity, didn't they? Curator: Precisely. The print as propaganda. Editor: The stark simplicity of the lines, the figure's humble posture, and the means of reproduction... it makes me think about faith as a tangible, material construct. Curator: Seeing it now, I am struck by how this small piece reveals large shifts in power through the simplicity of a repeatable image.