ticketsMember | Make a donation

The Milkmaid

Lucas van Leyden Netherlandish
1510
Not on view
In a print that has been described as the earliest Dutch image of a milkmaid, a buxom lass and a strapping lad seem keenly aware of each other. The cowherd's (and the viewer's) focus on the farmgirl would have brought to mind the slang word melken (to milk), meaning to attract or lure. The term's origin is more or less explained in an anonymous Dutch book of 1624, Nova poemata (subtitled "New Low German poems and riddles"), in which a woman in the act of milking a cow ("A sinewy thing she has seized with joy," and so on) is compared with grabbing a man's . . . attention.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Milkmaid
  • Artist: Lucas van Leyden (Netherlandish, Leiden ca. 1494–1533 Leiden)
  • Date: 1510
  • Medium: Engraving
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 4 1/2 x 6 1/8 in. (11.4 x 15.5 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Felix M. Warburg and his family, 1941
  • Object Number: 41.1.24
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
De Passie van ons Heer Jesus Christus
Lucas van Leyden
Museum Plantin-Moretus
1900
Boy with a Trumpet, Lucas van Leyden Netherlandish, Engraving
Boy with a Trumpet
Lucas van Leyden
Abraham Sending Away Hagar, Lucas van Leyden Netherlandish, Engraving
Abraham Sending Away Hagar
Lucas van Leyden
1516
Dirk First Count of Holland, Lucas van Leyden Netherlandish, Woodcut
Dirk First Count of Holland
Lucas van Leyden
1517
Solomon's Idolatry [I Kings, 11:1-8], Lucas van Leyden Netherlandish, Woodcut
Solomon's Idolatry [I Kings, 11:1-8]
Lucas van Leyden
ca. 1517

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.