Chloë Milking One of Daphnis' Goats - Aristide Maillol

A classic woodcut illustration by Aristide Maillol, depicting a scene from the pastoral romance Daphnis and Chloë.

This woodcut by Aristide Maillol depicts a scene from the ancient Greek pastoral romance, Daphnis and Chloë, written by Longus. Maillol produced a series of woodcut illustrations for a limited edition of this text, published by Philippe Gonin in 1937. His approach to the subject reflects a return to classical simplicity, stripping away unnecessary detail to focus on the essential forms of the figures and the animal.

The composition is defined by clean, bold lines and a lack of shading, which is characteristic of Maillol's graphic work. The figures of Chloë and the goat are rendered with a sense of calm, rhythmic movement. The background, suggested by simple vertical strokes, provides a sense of the pastoral setting without distracting from the primary action. Maillol, primarily known as a sculptor, applied his understanding of volume and mass to these two-dimensional prints. The result is a work that feels balanced and grounded, prioritising clarity of form over decorative flourish.

By choosing the woodcut medium, Maillol embraced the limitations of the block, using the contrast between black ink and white paper to create a stark, graphic image. This print captures the quiet, everyday nature of the pastoral life described in the original text. It is a fine example of how the artist translated his sculptural sensibilities into the medium of printmaking, maintaining a focus on the human figure and its interaction with the natural world.