Paysan et Paysanne en Marche 1605 - 1650

Jean Morin created this etching, "Peasant and Peasant Woman Walking," sometime in the mid-17th century. During this period, France was largely an agrarian society marked by stark class divisions. Morin, as an artist working for the court, occupied a very different social sphere from the rural laborers he depicts. The print offers a glimpse into the lives of the peasantry, but through a lens that may reflect the values and interests of its elite audience. The figures, though central to the composition, are small in scale compared to the landscape. Are they romanticized, or are they simply rendered as part of the natural world? How does this representation shape our understanding of their identities and lived experiences? Consider the power dynamics at play in this image. Who has the authority to represent whom, and what biases might inform that representation? The emotional weight of this scene rests in the everyday lives of people we will never know.