Francis Vivares

The Hop Pickers

20 x 16 inches

A scarce etching by Francis Vivares who was an eminent French etcher and line engraver of landscapes and topographical subjects after his contemporaries and the Old Masters. He was born in Paris but moved to London when he was 18 years old and became a successful and accomplished engraver working initially for Boydell and then for himself.

This bucolic scene is a rare depiction of C18th hop picking most probably in southern England. A family helps their father pick hops from the branches that he brings back to the cottage door. Hop growing was an important industry, particularly in Kent, with many farmsteads supplying the London breweries.