Old Inn (Une ancienne auberge) 

Editor: Here we have "Old Inn" by Alphonse Legros. It's an etching, made using ink on some kind of print paper, and I am immediately struck by how raw it feels. It's not overly polished, which gives it a certain charm. What's your interpretation? Curator: What grabs my attention is the labor and process evident in the lines, and how they convey so much texture, creating a specific kind of place. You feel the weight of the hand, the repetitive motion of the etching tool. Where do you think Legros was coming from when he chose this specific subject matter to turn into an artwork? Editor: Well, I see a run-down building. Perhaps he's hinting at a disappearing way of life, maybe critiquing the impact of industrialization. The focus isn’t on grand architecture or portraits of wealthy patrons. Curator: Exactly! He's drawn to the materials and the buildings of working people and he is doing so at a moment when many others were fixated on painting aristocrats, a rapidly declining breed. Etching as a printmaking process becomes central, less about unique artistry and more about reproducibility. Are these images for everyone to have access to, for the education of all social classes? Editor: I never considered the reproductive nature of it. Curator: Notice, too, how the humble materials – ink, paper, a simple etching tool – stand in stark contrast to the lavish oil paintings and sculptures celebrated in academic circles. It suggests a democratization of art-making. Where are we within these class structures that are forming at this time period in history, and how are the old definitions of laboring dissolving away to create more artistic interpretations? Editor: I see what you mean! By using etching, he is distributing affordable art, while the content elevates the lives of normal people! Curator: Precisely. It shifts our focus to the materials of everyday life, the buildings people live in, and even how these could all become part of artistic representation. The labor of creating the print and then also labor found inside of the actual subject it is depicting. Editor: I never thought about the interplay between material, process, and social commentary in such a direct way. Thank you!