The Harvesters by Pieter Bruegel
The first work to be discussed is The Harvesters by the Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder written in 1565. This painting is part of a series of six works illustrating the seasons and it “shows a hot, hazy midsummer day, perhaps near Lake Geneva” (Staden & Folds, 1970, p. 37). The painting depicts a field and a landscape stretching behind it with a hill and buildings in the distance. The foreground of the painting is occupied by the image of a group of peasants resting under a tree. Although some of the figures are still working the field or harvesting crops, most of them are relaxing. People in the context of the landscape are the focus of the artwork; Brueghel depicts their daily activities with great attention to detail. The warm but muted colors of the artwork with the dominance of yellow, green, and brown suggest that the artist is depicting the period from July to August, which correlates with the plot. Bruegel depicts the landscape and human figures with a high degree of realism, using perspective as an additional tool to create a story.
Works by the Flemish artist, including the Harvesters, became a turning point in the history of European art of the late Middle Ages. Burroughs (1921) notes that images of labor are a common theme in the paintings of artists of the northern countries throughout the Middle Ages. Labor in particular harvesting wheat was considered by the church as the occupation imposed on man after the fall and often appeared in religious books along with images of sacred stories (Burroughs, 1921). In this way, Bruegel continued the tradition of medieval artists deeply rooted in religious illustrations. However, the Harvesters focuses on the depiction of peasants resting after labor, which identifies the transition of early Netherlandish artists to a gradual shift from standard religious motifs to more secular subjects (Ainsworth, 2009). In this regard, Bruegel marked the development of a more humanistic approach to painting, which exemplifies the gradual minimization of religious influence on the spiritual and intellectual life of society.
The Bridge at Villeneuve-la-Garenne by Alfred Sisley
The British artist Alfred Sisley’s The Bridge at Villeneuve-la-Garenne painted in 1872 contrasts sharply with the artwork of the Flemish artist. First of all, this work uses vibrant colors to depict the river, houses, bridge, and sky on a summer day. In contrast to the painting by Bruegel, Sisley does not focus on human figures; the center of the work is “the cast-iron and stone suspension bridge that was constructed in 1844” (The Bridge at Villeneuve-la-Garenne, n.d). Additionally, the artist uses more chaotic strokes, which makes the elements less realistic. There are human figures in the painting, but they are also not detailed, which helps draw attention to the image of the bridge.
Sisley’s work is one of the examples of impressionism, although the artist modified the techniques familiar to this area. The Bridge at Villeneuve-la-Garenne illustrates the significant influence on Sisley of the ideas of the early French Impressionists including Pissarro, Degas, and Monet. Their approach is noticeable not only in the brushstrokes and color palette but also in the theme that Sisley portrays. The main subject of Impressionist paintings of the late nineteenth century was modernity and everyday life in the conditions of the rapid development of technology (Samu, 2004). Sisley made the bridge the center of his work as a symbol of the industrial revolution and social change. Although the artist applies the traditional techniques of the Impressionists, the strokes in his painting are more precise, and the space is less flat, which emphasizes the influence of the Romantic movement (Distel et al., 1974). Thus, Sisley exemplifies the transition of artists to more emotional painting, preserving the distinctive traditions of British and Irish art.
Weaning the Calves by Rosa Bonheur
The painting Weaning the Calves by the French female artist Rosa Bonheur was created in 1879. In contrast to the works by Bruegel and Sisley, it does not contain human figures, but in the center of the composition is a group of calves separated from a cow by a fallen tree. The work depicts “the high pasturelands of the Pyrenees” (Weaning the Calves, n.d). The warm, muted colors of the work are similar to those chosen by Bruegel for his painting and contrast with the vibrant palette by Sisley.
Although Bonheur’s work was created not long after the heyday of Impressionism, it is an example of the early Modernist movement. Weaning the Calves can be considered in terms of the gender roles that existed in Europe in the nineteenth century. In particular, the traditions in the society of that period determined the life of female artists to a greater extent than male artists (Wagner, 1998). While men had greater access to social interaction, they were able to depict aspects of the industrial changes that were the main subject of Impressionism. Women, including Bonheur, were forced to develop within a more limited social context defined by gender roles and family traditions (Mayers, 2008). Bonheur was trained in painting by her father, which significantly influenced the choice of subjects for her paintings (Mayers, 2008). Thus, female artists of that period painted mainly landscapes or domestic scenes, as they had access to those themes. While this work illustrates the gradual shift in traditional gender roles towards greater intellectual freedom for women, it also exemplifies the social restrictions that existed in that period.
References
Ainsworth, M. W. (2009). Early Netherlandish painting. The MET. Web.
Burroughs, B. (1921). The Harvesters by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 16(5), 96-103.
Distel, A., Dayez, A., Hoog, M., & Moffett, C. S. (1974). Impressionism: A centenary exhibition, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 12, 1974-February 10, 1975. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Myers, N. (2008). Women artists in nineteenth-century France. The MET. Web.
Samu, M. (2004). Impressionism: Art and Modernity. The MET. Web.
Staden, E. A. & Folds, T. M. (1970). Masterpieces of painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York Graphic Society.
The Bridge at Villeneuve-la-Garenne. (n.d). The MET. Web.
Wagner, A. M. (1998). Three artists (three women). University of California Press.
Weaning the Calves. (n.d). The MET. Web.