Oever van de Somme in de buurt van Amiens 1837 - 1911

"Oever van de Somme in de buurt van Amiens", or "Banks of the Somme near Amiens", is an etching made by Alphonse Legros, a French-born artist working in 19th century Britain. Legros was known for his commitment to etching at a time when many considered it a dying art. This landscape presents a lone figure poling a small boat along a tranquil river, framed by towering trees. What might seem a simple pastoral scene is also steeped in the realities of labor and rural life. Legros came from a humble background, his father was a farm worker, and he often depicted the lives of the working class. The Somme, while idyllic here, carries a complex weight. It is a region forever marked by one of the bloodiest battles of World War I. Legros died a few years before this devastation, yet his quiet, unassuming image reminds us of the ever-present, often unseen, labor that shapes the land we inhabit.