1763
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Sleeping Peasant and Standing Spinner is a 1763 ink by Francesco Londonio, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This picture shows a person lying on the ground with a sack under their head, looking like they’re sleeping. Nearby, a woman stands holding a bundle of flax and a spindle, spinning thread. She wears a simple dress and a headscarf. Around them, sheep and a goat graze on grass, while a stick lies on the ground. The artist used fine lines to show textures—like the wool on the sheep or the folds in the sack. This kind of drawing is called *etching*, where acid bites into metal plates to create the image. Try looking up etching to see how artists make these detailed prints.
Francesco Londonio (1723–1783) was an Italian painter, engraver, and scenographer, active mainly in his native Milan in a late-Baroque or Rococo style.
See the richer artist page
