Angers, Lake Saint-Nicolas 1912

Curator: What a serene vista! Auguste-Louis Lepère captures the tranquil charm of "Angers, Lake Saint-Nicolas" in this 1912 etching, here at the Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: Serene is one word, yes, but I see also a labor scene. Look at the workers in the boat! Even at leisure, it's their craft represented; their livelihood woven into the landscape. Curator: Ah, yes, those working boats! Lepère’s impressionistic style—all those shimmering lines and subtle tonal shifts—almost hides the hard labor within this supposedly idyllic setting. It’s quite dreamlike, isn't it? Editor: Dreamlike only if you ignore the actual materials. Look how deeply he's bitten some lines; look at the ink left on the plate. And the *paper* – laid, likely handmade. All those materials and their cost represents someone's expenditure of labour. Curator: You’re right to ground us! It's easy to get lost in the visual harmony. But let's remember that printmaking itself is work: the cutting, the acid, the press, pulling the impression... the community involved. I feel Lepère’s labor, his collaboration, humming through the whole picture. The rich detail reminds me of a tapestry. Editor: The city skyline emerging dimly behind feels almost... imposed on this working scene. The industrial encroaching. Lepère's technique, the density of marks and their interplay – the layering – also mirrors how Angers must have looked with that juxtaposition in reality. Curator: That makes me think about our position as viewers now, detached and safe inside the museum. Maybe Lepère wants us to consider the whole scene: work and leisure, nature and industry—that constant push and pull. Like a slow inhale and exhale. Editor: He compels us to look closer, that's for certain. At what constitutes “art,” labor, landscape… all bound inextricably to specific actions, material practices. A single copper plate tells so much about its place in a changing world. Curator: A world he loved and laboured to capture with his incredible skills, yes. It’s almost overwhelming how much he included on such a small printing. Editor: Indeed, it's the art of material made accessible for thought and experience; truly a lasting creation to analyze through so many filters.