The Exhausted Ragpicker
Medium
Etching, drypoint, aquatint and open bite, with vise marks on cream laid Japanese paper
Dimensions
Image: 34 × 24 cm (13 7/16 × 9 1/2 in.); Plate: 34 × 24 cm (13 7/16 × 9 1/2 in.); Sheet: 35.9 × 27.1 cm (14 3/16 × 10 11/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
104245
Art Historical Context
Jean-François Rafaëlli’s 1880 print *The Exhausted Ragpicker* portrays a weary laborer engaged in the humble task of collecting discarded materials, a familiar sight in the streets of late-nineteenth-century Paris. The title itself underscores the physical toll of such work, inviting viewers to consider the human cost of urban life during a period of rapid industrialization and social change. Created through a sophisticated combination of etching, drypoint, aquatint, and open bite on delicate cream Japanese paper, the work demonstrates Rafaëlli’s mastery of printmaking. These layered techniqu...