Le Retour du Troupeau [The Return of the Herd], Crèvecoeur
Maker
Auguste Louis Lepère
(French, 1849-1918)
Date1913
MediumEtching and drypoint
Dimensions11 x 8 1/4 in. (27.9 x 21 cm)
Sheet: 15-1/2 x 10-1/2 in. (39.4 x 26.7 cm)
Sheet: 15-1/2 x 10-1/2 in. (39.4 x 26.7 cm)
Credit LineGift from the Children of Leopold and Birdie Metzenberg
Collections
Object number1985.81.63
Status
Not on viewLepère was a French painter and etcher; having begun his artistic education at age thirteen, by the mid-1870s, he had emerged as a leading printmaker of his time. As in this piece, he focuses on day-to-day events in both his etchings and wood engravings. He also experimented throughout his life with innovations such as combining wood engraving and etching on the same print and with colored papers.
This print demonstrates the astonishing resilience of nostalgic pastoral imagery, even after the transformative impact of the Industrial Revolution and the ravages of the First World War.