The shepherdess 1888

Émile Munier made this painting with oil on canvas; a fine art material which can be seen as traditional, but also a product of industrial capitalism. Munier was known for his academic style, with a focus on details, light, and shadow. He was trained to prepare and apply his paints in a way that would minimize his own touch. In The Shepherdess, the artist has emphasized realism, almost a photograph of a young peasant girl. Her feet are dirty, her clothes simple, but she is also presented as beautiful, innocent, and idealized. The making of the painting is a commercial transaction, and so is the girl. In nineteenth century France, the life of a shepherdess was hard, involving long hours of physical work. Munier's style aestheticizes her labor, making the subject and the scene attractive to consumers who likely benefited from cheap materials and labor. So while this painting is clearly fine art, the material reality of its production is a complex interweaving of industrial production, labor, and social issues.