Field Labour
About this artwork
Mauve first visited Laren in north Holland in 1882, and settled there three years later. He was inspired by rural village life and often observed the farm labourers in the surrounding fields. In this painting a farm labourer is digging the earth, probably preparing the ground for sowing. The subject of the labourer and the dark tone of the painting reflect Mauve’s debt to the work of the French Barbizon school, especially Jean-François Millet who specialised in peasant subjects.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Anton Mauve (1838 - 1888) Dutch
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title:Field Labour
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date created:1855 - 1888
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materials:Oil on panel
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measurements:25.40 x 41.00 cm; Framed: 51.00 x 66.00 x 9.50 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Bequest of Hugh A Laird 1911
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accession number:NG 1057
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gallery:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Anton Mauve
Anton Mauve
Mauve was one of the leading members of The Hague School and a cousin, through marriage, of Vincent van Gogh. Hague artists’ use of such muted tones in their paintings earned them the nickname the “Grey School”. These low-key colours, which also had a certain affinity with those used by Whistler,...