Milkmaid of Boulogne, 1st plate (Laitiere a Boulogne) 

Alphonse Legros created this etching, Milkmaid of Boulogne, sometime in the mid-19th century. Here we see the daily life of a French peasant woman. But it is important to remember that this image was made at a time of great social change. In the 1800s, rural people were moving to cities for work, and it seemed like traditional ways of life might disappear. Legros’s image preserves a moment in time, an ordinary woman making her way to market with the help of her donkey. This seemingly simple image is an interesting document of its time, and we can learn a lot about 19th-century France by examining these social and institutional contexts. To learn more, look to the history of the etching and the rise of Realism in French art. Consider also the urbanization of France and the country's changing economy.