Two Beggars Fighting
1612–16
Jacques Bellange French, c. 1575-1616
France
The uneven appearance of Jacques Bellange’s experimental printmaking techniques and his exaggeration of the human body complement this genre scene of two transients—a pilgrim and a hurdy-gurdy player—fighting a mock-epic battle. Their interlocking pyramidal form achieves a certain grandeur and scale, which is lacking in the many contemporary, but more overtly satirical, depictions of beggars.
Etching and engraving, with drypoint, in black on off white laid paper