Armand Queyroy, Courtyard Well with Washerwoman and Girl, 1875, Etching

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A woman washes linen in a wooden tub set on a low bench beside an old stone well, while a … Read more A woman washes linen in a wooden tub set on a low bench beside an old stone well, while a young girl in a white cap stands at her side and watches. The well is a heavy round drum of dressed stone with a wooden winch and coiled rope, and above it rises a small octagonal well-house of timber with pointed Gothic openings, a steep conical roof of shingles, and carved brackets in the form of little angels holding shields. Climbing vines spread over the walls and the timber-framed building at the right, a dovecote opening shows in the wall at upper left, and a broom and a stoneware jug lean against the wall in the corner. The light falls softly across the yard, catching the women's caps and aprons and the worn stone of the well. The plate is signed "A. Queyroy" at the lower right of the image. Armand Queyroy was a French etcher who devoted much of his work to the old streets, houses and everyday life of provincial France, recording medieval buildings and domestic scenes with an antiquarian's eye. No title or place name is printed on this sheet, and the subject is presented here as the image shows it: a working courtyard built around an old well. This is an original etching, and Queyroy's line is precise and patient: individual leaves in the vine, the joints of the stonework, the grain of the timber and the coils of rope on the winch are all drawn with care, and the darker areas are built up with close, even hatching. It would bring a gentle, old-world note to a kitchen, a laundry room or a cottage hallway, perhaps in a light wood frame with a linen mat. Condition: Age toning, darker at the edges; handling soiling along the edges and scattered foxing in the margins. Printed image clean. This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed. See less