Summer (L'ete) 

Alphonse Legros created this etching, “Summer (L’ete),” which captures a pastoral scene with women and children near a stream. Legros lived through the industrial revolution, but was also deeply inspired by the rural life he experienced in France as a child. Legros challenges the traditional male gaze often found in idyllic depictions of women in nature. Instead, we see a community of women who appear world-worn, their faces etched with the marks of labor and time. Their garments are simple, and their postures reflect a grounded connection to the earth and the act of nurturing. The presence of the children wading in the water adds a layer of innocence and continuity to the scene. We are drawn to this intimate moment of communal life, where the boundaries of work and care blur. It reminds us of the interconnectedness of people and their environment.