Farmer with collapsed horse 1903

Giovanni Fattori painted “Farmer with collapsed horse” at an unknown date, on a canvas measuring 62 by 107 cm, and it’s held in a private collection. Look at that sky – it’s amazing! The colour palette is mostly muted earth tones, but then, bam!, these dramatic sweeping dark clouds create such a heightened emotional atmosphere. You can almost feel the weight of the air, the despair, the weariness. Poor old farmer, poor old horse, collapsed under the weight of… well, everything. I wonder what Fattori was thinking when he made it? Probably something about the hard life of rural workers. You can feel the texture in those brushstrokes, all that thick paint. It’s like he’s building up the surface to mirror the harshness of the scene. The farmer’s stance – shoulders slumped – speaks volumes. Painting is like a conversation between artists across time, isn't it? Fattori's work makes me think about Courbet and Millet, all those painters engaged in capturing the realities of working-class life. I guess every artist is just trying to make sense of the world in their own way, using colours and shapes to express what words can't.