End of the Work Day 

Franz von Defregger’s painting “End of the Work Day” is made with oil on canvas, a material that lent itself well to the artist's naturalistic style. The painting is made of simple brushstrokes that suggest a sense of domesticity in a rural, working-class setting, the family's clothing is made of homespun cloth and the kitchen tools are rudimentary. These elements hint at their reliance on manual labor and the limited means of production available to them. The warm tones and soft lighting evoke a sense of comfort and respite, but do not conceal the underlying reality of the family's material circumstances. The man's pipe, the woman's mending, and the child's playful drawings are all small acts of leisure, but each contrasts with the amount of work involved in maintaining a household. By focusing on the textures and surfaces of everyday objects, Defregger elevated the crafts of the working class to a position worthy of artistic attention, challenging the traditional hierarchy that separated fine art from craft.