Jacques Callot

The order of the Friars Minor of the city of Nancy, Lorraine, commissioned this thesis print (an image that presents the points of an academic argument) to honor a thesis defense by one of their friars. Dedicated to the Duke and Duchess Charles IV and Nicole of Lorraine (whose arms appear above), the print conveys the points of argument on placards and banderoles laid out throughout the image. The argument defends the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Callot composed the image like a frontal triumphal procession, placing the crowned Virgin atop a triumphal chariot in the middle distance. In the foreground, a female figure crushes a demon, symbolizing the Virgin’s triumph over the devil and death. On either side allegorical personages celebrate the Virgin’s victorious virtues. In the background hell scene legions of the damned are corralled by devils in a landscape ravaged by war. Callot’s composition is unusual for a thesis print (for a more typical format, see the Large Thesis in the adjoining gallery), privileging pictorial concerns over a clear presentation of the points of argument.