Les Pêcheurs (The Fishermen)
Medium
etching and aquatint printed in brown on laid paper
Dimensions
image: 32.2 × 23.2 cm (12 11/16 × 9 1/8 in.) sheet (trimmed within platemark): 34.2 × 24.2 cm (13 7/16 × 9 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1990.134.5
Art Historical Context
Jean-Baptiste Le Prince’s *Les Pêcheurs* captures a quiet moment of everyday labor along a riverbank. Created in 1771, the print reflects the 18th-century fascination with genre scenes that celebrated ordinary people engaged in traditional activities. Le Prince, who had traveled extensively in Russia, often infused his work with a sense of exotic yet relatable rustic life, appealing to French audiences curious about distant cultures. The medium itself is noteworthy: Le Prince helped introduce aquatint to France, a tonal printing process that allowed artists to achieve soft, watercolor-like ef...
About the Artist
Jean-Baptiste Le Prince · 1734–1781
Comment on works: Genre; Landscapes; Portraits; Copper engraver; Illustrator; Master draughtsman