Milkmaid of Boulogne, 3rd plate (Laitiere a Boulogne)
1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Milkmaid of Boulogne, 3rd plate (Laitiere a Boulogne) is a 1874 ink by Alphonse Legros, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a woman bending over a cow in a field. She’s milking it while standing next to a cart loaded with hay. Tall trees and brush fill the background, and the whole scene is drawn in rough, dark lines. The artist used scratching and engraving tools to create the texture—look at how the lines vary in thickness. This isn’t smooth; it’s gritty, like the scene itself. Next, check out etching, drypoint, aquatint to see how artists make marks like these.
