The Milk Woman
Medium
Pastel manner; printed in red, blue, yellow, and black inks with two colors of applied gold leaf
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 11 7/16 × 9 5/16 in. (29 × 23.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Catherine D. Wentworth, 1948
Accession Number
48.187.754
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the enchanting world of 18th-century French printmaking with *The Milk Woman* (1774) by Louis Marin Bonnet, a master engraver celebrated for his innovative techniques. This intimate portrait captures a humble milk seller, her poised expression and simple attire evoking the everyday grace of working women in pre-Revolutionary France. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, trimmed sheet measures just 11 7/16 × 9 5/16 inches, it a delicate gem for close contemplation. Bonnet's signature "pastel manner"—a rare printing process using red, blue, yellow,...
About the Artist
Louis Marin Bonnet · 1736–1793
Comment on works: Copper engraver