Lot #87: Jules Breton "In the Fields" Antique Etching

A Juno-esque young woman carries a bundle of just-cut hay on her shoulder, skirt knotted at her waist, feet bare, a solemn gaze on her slightly frowning face. Another woman works behind her bundling sheaves in this large piece filled with beautifully rendered textures. Signed in the lower right corner of the print by artist Jules Breton, with the location Courrières and the date 1877, and again in the lower left margin in pencil. He also added a small remarque in the bottom center margin, a self-portrait sketched in ink. Printer L Daughtry signed in pencil, lower right in the margin, and also hid his initials in the lower left of the print. Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton, 1827-1906, was born in Courrières, France. His father's death left the family in debt for the first time ever, and Breton became aware of what life was like for the farmworkers and especially the gleaners who were the last to gather what was left after the harvest. His empathy for them led to his focus on these women as primary subjects, and he depicted them in groups and as solitary figures, often at sunset as their back-breaking day came to an end. His work in the tradition of the French Realism movement of the mid-late 1800s was collected by various wealthy Americans, and has undergone a recent reassessment, leading to recognition of him as a defining artist of the 19th century, who drew on traditions of academicism and naturalism. Engraved and printed after the original oil painting by L Dautruy. Matted under glass in simple black wood frame; very slight foxing to upper right. Dimensions: 21.5" X 31.5" Pickup category timeslot {B}