Charles-François Daubigny (1817-1878)

The Beach at Villerville

France, 1850

Etching

Plate: 125 x 215 mm; paper: 195 x 165; mount: 405 x 555 mm

This peaceful scene presents groups of workers – men fishing in a small boat to the right while women collect shells from rock pools – whose survival was dependent on the sea. In the centre an inquisitive horse waits patiently by a cart that will transport the goods home or to market. One of the leading members of the Barbizon School, which favoured Realism in art, Daubigny here experiments with the etching technique, with details becoming increasingly suggestive and sketchy to the eye as the composition recedes into the distance.

Purchased 1966 (No. 66.3)

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