Jacques Dassonville

Jacques Dassonville was a printmaker whose career is documented to 1635. His output primarily consists of etchings or engravings, fifteen examples of which are currently represented in museum collections, confirming the artist's historical significance. The primary institutional holder of his surviving work is the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Dassonville’s prints focus entirely on genre subjects, documenting scenes of daily life, poverty, and rural domesticity characteristic of 17th-century Northern European art. His thematic consistency is demonstrated through titles such as A beggar on crutches holding out a bowl and Beggars asking for alms, emphasizing marginalized figures.

Further works illustrate interior scenes and architectural subjects, including A family of four peasants gathered before the fireplace and A dilapidated building with eight peasants engaged in various activities. Other character studies, such as An old woman holding a glass and a piece of paper, a child at left and a man behind her at right, demonstrate Dassonville’s focus on detailed observational realism. As these works reside in the public domain, they allow researchers and enthusiasts access to Jacques Dassonville prints, which are often reproduced as high-quality prints for study and exhibition.