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The Pistol Shot

The Pistol Shot

Series Title: Cabinet Reynst, Variarum imaginum a celeberrimis artificibus pictarum Caelaturae (Engravings of various images painted by famous artists)

After: Pieter van Laer (Dutch, 1599 - c. 1642)

Etched by: Cornelis de Visscher (Dutch, 1629-1658)

Date: 1655-1658
Medium: ink on paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 12 7/8 x 15 13/16 in. (32.7 x 40.2 cm)
Image: 12 1/8 x 15 1/8 in. (30.8 x 38.4 cm)
Framed: 21 x 24 in. (53.3 x 61 cm)
Credit Line:Museum Purchase
Object number: 1919.119.1
This dramatic nocturnal Italianate scene shows a group of bandits on horseback, weapons drawn with pistol barrels abutting. Pieter van Laer spent much of his career in Rome as part of a group of expatriate artists who lived in a neighborhood near the Piazza del Popolo known as the Bentvueghels or “Birds of a Feather,” where we went by the nickname Il Bamboccio, the “clumsy puppet” based on his physical disfigurement. The artist specialized in Roman street scenes featuring beggars, soldiers, rogues, cheats, pickpockets, peddlers, and artists. He achieved success both in Italy and in his native Holland.
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