Les Sabots n.d.

Jacques Couché created "Les Sabots", sometime in the late 18th century, using engraving. The composition is carefully framed, with a formal border around a scene of pastoral leisure that attempts to capture a moment of casual romance. The image’s organization balances the intimacy of the figures with the wildness of the landscape. Couché uses a semiotic system of signs that invites us to decode the cultural values placed on rural life. Note how the fine lines and delicate shading create a sense of depth and texture. The positioning of the figures within the frame is carefully arranged to direct our gaze, using line of sight and gesture to draw our eyes across the scene. The work highlights the values that characterized pre-revolutionary French society. It provides a lens through which we can examine the ways in which art reflects and shapes our perceptions of love, nature, and social hierarchy.