Milkmaid (Leiteira)

Human beings are fed on milk during the first months of life. Milk can be supplied by humans or by proper animals. Milk obtained from animals is also intended to make butter and cheese. Hand milking was usually performed by men, although animals living in stables or pastures near houses were milked by house servants.


Os seres humanos alimentam-se de leite nos primeiros meses de vida. O leite consumido pode ser de origem humana ou proveniente de animais destinados ao seu fornecimento. Aquele que se retira destes animais destina-se ainda ao fabrico de manteiga e queijo. A ordenha manual era normalmente realizada por homens, embora para os animais estabulados, ou a pastar próximo de casa, se utilizassem serviçais.

Karel Dujardin (1622-1678)-'woman milking a red cow'-oil on canvas-1650 Stockholm-Nationalmuseum

Myles Birket Foster (1825-1899)-'milkmaid'-oil on canvas-1860 London-Victoria and Albert Museum

Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533)-'milkmaid'-copper engraving on paper-1500 Stuttgart-Staatsgalerie (1510 Amsterdam-Rijksmuseum)

Winlow Homer (1836-1910)-'the milkmaid'-watercolor-1878 Washington-National Gallery of Art

Julien Dupré (1851-1910)-'milkmaids in the field'-oil on canvas Private collection