Jacques Callot was one of the first seventeenth century artists to attain fame by working exclusively as a printmaker. His career began in Florence in 1612 when he began working for the sophisticated and elegant Medici famioy/ After his return to France in 1621, Callot became engraver to the Court of the Lorraines where hios work became more serious and direct. Best known for his series on the Misseries of Was, he also illustrated a number of early books.