Village of the Meule 1905

Curator: Auguste-Louis Lepère, active in late 19th-century France, created this etching, "Village of the Meule." Editor: It feels like a hushed memory, doesn't it? The cross-hatching gives it an almost dreamlike quality. Curator: Lepère was known for his printmaking, often depicting rural life, a conscious choice to represent everyday people. Editor: Yes, there’s a stillness. You can almost hear the distant sounds of the village— livestock moving through the village. It's beautifully textural. Curator: Indeed, the technique allows for a certain democratization of art, bringing scenes of rural life to a wider audience. Editor: A humble yet moving portrait of a place, captured with such delicate lines. Curator: A glimpse into a world increasingly distant, yet rendered with the immediacy of lived experience. Editor: Exactly, it makes you wonder what sounds and smells drifted from this village and the lives that it held.