Melkmeid c. 1736

Jacques Philippe Le Bas created this print of a milkmaid sometime in the 18th century. It’s an image that encapsulates the social and economic realities of the time. The milkmaid, carrying a heavy jug on her head, is not just a figure in a landscape. She represents the laboring class, the backbone of French society. Note the rugged terrain around her, a visual metaphor for the challenges faced by those who worked the land. The print was made in Paris, as the inscription tells us, in a city increasingly defined by its institutions of art. To understand this image more fully, one might research the economic conditions of 18th-century France, the role of women in the workforce, or the development of printmaking as a medium. By doing so, we reveal the social and institutional forces at play in the creation and reception of this artwork. The image's enduring power lies in its ability to reflect and comment on the social structures of its time.