Lath-Makers
1888, published 1908
Medium
Wood engraving in black on cream laid Japanese paper
Dimensions
Image: 7.5 × 9.6 cm (3 × 3 13/16 in.); Sheet: 18.3 × 20.9 cm (7 1/4 × 8 1/4 in.)
Classification
wood engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
124996
Art Historical Context
**Lath-Makers** by Louis Auguste Lepère captures the quiet diligence of French laborers in 1888, a time when wood engravings were experiencing a renaissance in Europe. Lepère, a master of this intricate technique, depicted everyday workers—here, lath-makers crafting thin wooden strips essential for construction and plastering. Created amid France's industrial boom, the print reflects a growing fascination with the working class, blending realism with the artist's keen eye for texture and light. Published later in 1908, it exemplifies Lepère's contribution to elevating printmaking as fine art. ...
About the Artist
Louis Auguste Lepère · 1849–1918
Louis-Auguste Lepère (1849–1918) was born in Paris on November 30 to the sculptor François Lepère, immersing him early in the artistic world. At age thirteen, he apprenticed in the studio of the English wood engraver Joseph Burn-Smeeton, training there from 1862 to 1867, and later attended drawing courses under Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran at the Petite École (now École nationale supérieure des art...