La danse au bord de l'eau (The dance on the river bank),

ca. 1635–36

A pervasive theme in Claude’s pastoral landscapes is the rustic dance, here performed by herdsmen and shepherdesses—their graceful figures set off against a reflecting body of water— along with leaping goats and complacent cows. This moment of music-enhanced leisure intersects with the world of labor, indicated by donkeys and workers making their way toward the watermill on the opposite bank. Essentially a copy in reverse of one of his subtly colored oil paintings, this atmospheric etching demonstrates Claude’s ability to achieve finely tuned tonal progressions in black and white.