La chaumière 1850 - 1860

Curator: Upon first glance, this work is incredibly evocative. The earth tones, the solitary structure... there's a weight of history here, I think. Editor: There's something quite grounding about it. It's clearly a landscape, dominated by this thatched building nestled amongst some trees, perhaps an idyllic depiction of rural life but with an economy of brushstrokes. Curator: Precisely! This is "La Chaumière" or "The Cottage," created sometime between 1850 and 1860 by Félix Ziem. Painted en plein air, the materials involved would have likely been oil paints or frescoes, common for capturing outdoor light and the immediacy of the scene. Understanding Ziem means understanding the romantic, and burgeoning impressionist context, of his era, especially for how it shaped views about land ownership. The figure of the peasant class and its intersectionality with the land. Editor: Let’s look closely, though, at how this image came into being and what materials were at hand in his workshop. Think of the socio-economic circumstances that allowed this artist to make paintings of the countryside, rather than actually being a part of it. He's rendering the texture of a building, probably constructed using wattle and daub, rough timbers—materials accessible to the working class. Curator: True. I see it as less of an idyllic rural vision and more of an active political decision to highlight this very grounded aspect of labour by the peasant class, as he engages a social realist tradition. A dialogue about whose stories get told, whose labour is visible. I see the muted tones as reinforcing this perspective—the subdued lives in contrast to romantic idealism. Editor: Yes, the choice of pigment definitely emphasizes this somberness. There is an attention paid to light here in a pre-impressionist, plein-air kind of approach, though. Note how that sky looms! Curator: In conclusion, I think Ziem, even perhaps unwittingly, opens space for asking urgent questions about our relationship to land. Editor: It’s a remarkable material document to the laboring landscape.