Laundress at an Artesian Well
Medium
Etching; fourth state
Dimensions
plate: 3 15/16 x 5 5/8 in. sheet: 4 13/16 x 6 1/2 in.
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.21.11
Tags
Art Historical Context
Johann Christoph Erhard’s 1817 etching *Laundress at an Artesian Well* offers a quiet glimpse into everyday rural life in early nineteenth-century Europe. The scene centers on a woman bent over her washing at a stone well, while ducks paddle nearby, transforming an ordinary chore into a moment of gentle observation. Rendered in the delicate lines of etching—a medium prized for its ability to capture fine detail and subtle textures—the print invites viewers to appreciate both the labor and the tranquil setting. Created during a period when artists increasingly turned to genre subjects, the wor...
About the Artist
Johann Christoph Erhard · 1795–1822
Johann Christoph Erhard (1795–1822) was a German painter and etcher of the Romantic era whose sensitive landscape studies and skillful prints earned him a growing reputation before his tragically early death at twenty-six. Born in Nuremberg, he studied at the Nuremberg Academy and later in Munich, where he was influenced by the Romantic landscape tradition and the revival of interest in the art of...