\nIn The Pasture, 1883<\/em><\/p>\n
Even before being told that we would need write a reflection upon a chosen artwork, this particular example had already caught my eye. To be perfectly honest, it is not so much the quality of the art that attracted my attention, but the girl hard at work.<\/p>\n
For those who have never lived a rural life, one of the first things to be told is that you cannot so much as walk through the field of a working farm and not get dirty. Bucolic scenes like this are the product of fantasy based on the overly pristine landscape alone. Yet here we have a young milk maid, innocent, hard-working, pure, clean and completely untouched by the product of her labors. Picturesque and pretty? Most certainly. But compared to life it\u2019s about as realistic as Picasso in his prime. Because of this observation and the bold colors, my first thought was this had to be a recent painting born of nostalgia for the oft sought out good old days. I was only half right. Turns out the painting was crafted in 1883, and for the time a progressive work pushing away from mostly biblical subjects \u2013 but even so it is still ripe with nostalgia. An end result of the French pastoral life already beginning to fade as the Industrial Revolution loomed.<\/p>\n
All of the above I learned from reading the accompanying plaque. This being a work of art, I know I should be delving deeper and espousing more my own take on the subject, but I would prefer to refrain from overindulging in that sort of interpretative exercise. Because every person sees and thinks differently, I believe author intent is as much the maker\u2019s right as my own, and quite frankly spending twenty minutes reflecting upon plywood boards or broom strokes is the height of arrogance – insulting to creator and consumer alike. After all, what observations I did make were mostly wrong anyway. Would it ever be fair to take them at face value over the facts?<\/p>\n
Instead, I would prefer to simply admire the artist\u2019s ability to create depth, color and detail. Not a square inch of the canvas has gone to waste, and yet even with all the minutiae in place there is no clutter. It may not be considered high art to paint a sanitized version of farm life, but it\u2019s pleasing to the eyes and still manages to provoke thought. In my opinion, that is more than enough.<\/p>\n
DC<\/p>\n
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