Wayfarers

Charles Haslewood Shannon 1863 - 1937

Summary

The scene shows three figures set against what appears to be a rural background with a winding path leading into the distance, however the scene is very dark and densely hatched so that it is quite indistinct. The three figures are highlighted against this, and it appears as if the white has in places been added after the rest of the composition was completed by further etching onto the plate. One of the figures, a nude young man, is standing to the left holding a staff with his left leg slightly raised. He is looking over his shoulder towards the woman and child who are seated in the bottom right hand corner. The woman is holding the child, who is also nude, in her lap and there faces are pressed against one another in an intimate gesture. The woman is wearing draped clothes which echo the curving lines of the landscape in their fluid, curved forms, and both her and the child are looking out towards the viewer.