Орач 1910

Editor: So, this is "Orach" by Mykhailo Boychuk, painted around 1910. It looks like oil on… something. Maybe canvas? Anyway, it’s this almost dreamlike scene of a farmer plowing a field with a horse. It's surprisingly muted and the shapes are simplified; almost folksy in a way. What are your first impressions? What do you see here? Curator: My eyes dance a little jig across that canvas! It's got that fantastic earthy grit – you can almost smell the soil, can't you? But beyond that immediate sensation, there's this beautiful stillness. Boychuk seems less concerned with photographic accuracy, and more about capturing the essence of the labour, the communion with nature. Almost a modern icon, don't you think? He’s simplified the forms down to their bare minimum, like he's chiseling away at some greater, universal truth about rural life. Do you sense any influence from earlier Ukrainian icon paintings in his style? Editor: I can see what you mean about the essence, and this universal truth thing. The way he renders the figures is like symbols themselves. Icon paintings...hm, the flatness maybe? And those simplified figures… it does kind of resonate. It's less a portrait of labour, and more a statement about humanity’s connection to the land, wouldn’t you say? Curator: Precisely! It’s the "everyman" rather than "any man" captured there, isn’t it? Boychuk wasn’t just painting what he saw, he was painting what he felt about the land and those who toiled on it. A romantic, melancholic reflection. It reminds me of old Slavic songs my grandmother used to sing, actually… about loss and the enduring spirit. What do you make of his use of colour here, particularly the unexpected lavender field? Editor: The lavender *is* unusual. And sets an unexpected tone. It kind of elevates the whole scene, beyond just manual work… making the painting very poignant! Thank you for the illuminating experience! Curator: Oh, the pleasure was all mine.