Traveling Women Drinking Water
Original title: Traveling Women Drinking Water
kurzbeschreibung
Three women quench their thirst at a stream while a fourth figure stands nearby with a stick — Jean Daullé fixed this motif in an etching with engraving in 1758. The landscape passage brings together a study of figures and a slice of nature.
Description
In the foreground three women rest by the water and drink from the brook; beside them a fourth person stands holding a stick. Rocks, trees and a small building step the space back in stages. A cloud-covered sky keeps the light subdued. Everything stays monochrome in graduated greys, as the etching technique invites.
Context
The sheet belongs to French landscape art of the eighteenth century and dates from 1758. Jean Daullé was known as a copperplate engraver chiefly for reproductions after paintings of his day. Everyday figures set in idyllic nature matched the taste of the period.
Impact
The greys and the overcast sky give the image a quiet, almost wistful mood. Nature and figures are recorded in close detail, without flattering idealization, which brings what is shown directly near to the viewer.
Technique
Etching and engraving on paper allow fine lines and precise shading. At roughly 30.2 × 36 cm it is a medium-format print made for the art market. The technique permits high accuracy of detail in textures and effects of light.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)