FURLONGS 1934

Eric Ravilious's Furlongs invites us into a rural scene rendered with a touch of surreal calm. The muted palette of ochre, grey and sage suggests a sun-baked day. The scene is dominated by haystacks. They stand like silent guardians overseeing the fields, while the procession of horses pulls wagons loaded with hay. I can imagine Ravilious patiently building up the layers of watercolor, each stroke carefully considered. The work is a dance between control and chance. I wonder what Ravilious was thinking as he painted? Was he captivated by the geometry of the landscape? Perhaps the repetition of forms—the round haystacks, the linear furrows—provided him with a sense of order amidst the chaos of the world. Ravilious, like many artists, engaged in a constant dialogue with his predecessors and contemporaries, borrowing and adapting ideas to create something entirely his own. So let’s embrace the ambiguities and multiple meanings that emerge when we allow ourselves to truly see.