Jager op het veld 1924

Jean Emile Laboureur made this print using delicate lines and a muted palette. I imagine him, bent over the plate, etching and biting, coaxing this quiet scene into being. There’s a hunter, or maybe just a guy thinking about hunting, strolling across a field, a church spire peeking out in the distance. He seems to be pondering, maybe about the hunt, maybe something else entirely, who knows? The lines create a sense of texture, from the subtle shading in the sky to the patterned foliage, it’s all so carefully considered. Laboureur was part of a larger conversation. He might have been looking at Daumier, at the way he captured the everyday, or maybe even further back. Either way, "Jager op het veld" is a reminder that we’re all just walking through a landscape, thinking our thoughts, and leaving our mark, one way or another.