Children Fishing
Original title: Children Fishing
kurzbeschreibung
Around 1738 Pierre Alexandre Aveline produced a print gathering a crowd of children on the bank of a river. The little ones appear with rods and nets, fishing, spread across a natural shoreline — sitting, lying down or standing. The sheet was executed in etching and engraving.
Description
Children populate the riverbank, some equipped with fishing nets and rods, others barefoot in plain, partly rumpled clothing. A few have stretched out on the ground, while others crouch or stand about. Trees and shrubs frame the bank. The motif appears in a single colour with graduated greys, natural light drawing out the riverside landscape.
Context
Aveline made the sheet around 1738 in France, a typical example of the printmaking of that century, which readily took up rural and playful scenes. A publisher's title on the print names the publisher and place of publication. Such sheets usually came out in series and were aimed at a broad public.
Impact
A quiet, carefree and idyllic mood emanates from the children by the water. Delicate lines and graduated greys give the sheet a detailed yet restrained elegance that draws the eye into the rural surroundings.
Technique
Etching and engraving were both used here, allowing precise fine detail as well as tonal gradation. The monochrome result comes from the printing process itself, in which the depth of the lines determines the grey values. Details and shading could thus be reproduced exactly.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)