After Charles-Émile Jacque, A Rivulet, Barbizon Pastoral Landscape, 1880, Engraving

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A quiet french pastoral scene: a shallow stream winds across open meadow under a heavy, cloud-filled sky. A young shepherdess … Read more A quiet french pastoral scene: a shallow stream winds across open meadow under a heavy, cloud-filled sky. A young shepherdess sits in the grass in the foreground among her sheep, several of which graze at the water's edge while another drinks from the stream. Beyond them a pair of cattle stand in the middle distance, and two great trees frame the composition, a tall, slender cluster at center left and a broad, spreading oak at right, its dark mass set against the pale sky. The picture is built on contrasts of light and shade typical of the painter: the bright sheet of water catches the light in the middle of the meadow, while the foreground and the heavy foliage stay deep and velvety. The horizon is low, with a line of woodland running along it, which gives the sky the greater part of the sheet. The plate reproduces a painting by charles-émile jacque (1813 to 1894), the french painter of sheep and farmyards who worked at barbizon alongside millet and rousseau. The margin credits him as "peint par ch. Jacques", and his own signature appears in the lower left of the image. The painting is recorded under the title "a rivulet". The print was made and printed by goupil and cie of paris, whose line "photogravure & imp. Goupil & cie" appears at lower right; goupil was the leading paris publisher of reproductions after contemporary painters. Photogravure renders the brushwork of the original in soft, continuous tones of warm gray and black, closer to a monochrome photograph of the painting than to a line engraving. The impression is rich in the trees and foreground and delicate in the sky. A broad landscape format that suits a long wall above a sofa or sideboard, and it sits well in a simple dark wood frame with a wide cream mat. Condition: light age toning; light handling soiling along the edges and a few small spots 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