Jonge vrouw met schort loopt door houten klaphek 1830 - 1880

Adolphe Mouilleron produced this print of a young woman with an apron walking through a wooden fence. Mouilleron was French and worked in the 19th century when there was an increasing interest in rural life. In France at this time the urban centers were growing rapidly. Prints like this appealed to people in cities, giving them an idea of the countryside as simple and pure. Look at the woman’s clothing. Her apron and simple dress mark her as a country person, part of the working class. She appears in harmony with nature, not separated from it. Images like this played a role in shaping ideas about national identity and class. To better understand this artwork, we can research the economic conditions in France at this time. How did industrialization affect ideas about rural life and national identity? These are the kinds of questions we can ask to understand the place of art in society.