Near the Mill (Pres du moulin) 

Curator: We’re looking at an etching by Alphonse Legros entitled “Near the Mill.” It has a quiet, unassuming air about it. Editor: It's almost meditative, isn’t it? The hazy quality of the etching technique gives it a soft, dreamlike feeling. What was Legros thinking of? Curator: Well, etching, especially in the hands of a Realist like Legros, was interesting because it allowed for mass production while maintaining the artist’s hand in the creation of each individual print. Legros’ relationship with labor comes through when thinking about it—both the artist's labor and the working people that populate many of his artworks. The print, made using an etching needle and acid to bite into the plate, becomes almost like a tiny field ready for cultivation by a farmer's plow. Editor: And that careful handwork, that deliberate cultivation you’re describing…it yields this exquisitely rendered landscape with its solitary figure fishing. It’s about seeing, observing the world, but also maybe feeling a certain… melancholy? I keep coming back to that mood. The lack of strong contrast or crisp edges adds to that feeling. Curator: Legros moved to London around 1863. Here, you see echoes of the Barbizon school— that French art movement that emphasized painting directly from nature. Though his technical virtuosity in the graphic arts secured his reputation and professorship at the Slade. Legros focused on this connection with everyday realities—it makes perfect sense he felt connected with laborers. And a fisherman feels deeply tied to the local reality, wouldn’t you say? Editor: Absolutely. And there is such economy of line, of gesture. Just look at how the reflections shimmer in the water, all captured with minimal effort. And even as the trees become scribbles in the distance, Legros nails that particular effect where distance equals blur. So while it's tied to the real through a technique of labor, for the common folk this piece delivers us to nature and solitude, in my humble view. Curator: That sounds like the right frame of mind as we continue this visit, and maybe you have discovered a kindred landscape somewhere in the past. Editor: Maybe in my sleep, but I’ll surely feel touched again as I walk through more Legros.