Destruction of a Convent, from the series The Miseries and Misfortunes of War

Among Callot’s best-known prints, the Miseries and Misfortunes of War series of etchings depicts the atrocities and carnage inflicted across Europe during the religious wars waged throughout the 17th century. With the conflict between Catholics and Protestants at the heart of its genesis, the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48) remains one of the longest and most destructive wars in European history. Rather than follow the traditional practice of depicting significant battles or lauded military figures, Callot presented instead the more horrifying aspects of war in numerous scenes of mayhem and havoc wrought by unruly troops on the local populace. There is little doubt that Callot witnessed deeds similar to those depicted in this series, but the excessive nature of the destruction and violence, as well as the aesthetically sensitive—albeit disturbing—manner in which he depicted them, suggests that Callot relied in equal parts on his creativity and on his personal experience. His haunting presentation of war was influential for centuries, finding its successors in the later works of Goya and Käthe Kollwitz.