Artwork
Girl in Peasant Costume
Girl in Peasant Costume is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Leon Moran. It dates from 1888 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Leon Moran’s 1888 print, titled *Girl in Peasant Costume*, is an etching executed in black on chine collé adhered to wove paper. The image presents a solitary female figure in traditional rural attire, positioned against a loosely rendered countryside backdrop. The work is catalogued as a print and exemplifies Moran’s interest in everyday subjects rendered with immediacy.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a woman dressed in a wide-brimmed hat, dark jacket and long skirt, clutching a basket as she stands in an open field. The surrounding foliage and a low fence are suggested rather than detailed, directing attention to the figure’s posture and attire, which evoke a nostalgic vision of agrarian life.
Technique & Style
Moran employed traditional intaglio etching, incising the design onto a metal plate and printing it onto a chine collé surface—a thin, adhered layer of paper that adds subtle texture. The lines are intentionally sketchy and unrefined, conveying a sense of spontaneity and preserving the raw quality of the artist’s hand.
History & Provenance
Created in 1888, the print belongs to Moran’s late‑19th‑century output, a period when he explored rural themes through printmaking. While specific ownership records are limited, the work has been documented in several catalogue raisonnés of Moran’s prints and appears in museum collections focused on American etching of the era.
Artist & collection
Peasant Girl on a Stony Road
The Way to the River
Untitled (Woman Picking Blossoms)
Untitled (Farmer's Daughter)
Original drawing for illustration to 'The Sisters', published in the English Illustrated Magazine
Cutting a Figure
Untitled (Lady by a Riverbank)
Petite Servante
Those Evening Bells
After the Hounds
La Fille et la mère
Revery