The Grand Tournament: The Combat

Jacques Callot produced lively etched illustrations for lavish festival books celebrating the Medici in Florence and, later, for the Duchy of Lorraine. This book, called The Combat at the Barrier after its culminating event, was held in Nancy on February 14, 1627, to honor the controversial Duchess of Chevreuse. Callot’s patron, Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, was so smitten with her that he sided with the English against France at her request. The event consisted of an elaborate parade complete with floats and several mock battles, leading up to the Grand Tournament seen here, in which Charles IV emerged victorious.