Vier ossen, voor een ploeg gespannen 1841 - 1857

Johan Daniël Koelman made this drawing of oxen pulling a plough using graphite on paper, sometime in the mid-19th century. The artist has used graphite to capture the weight and texture of the animals' hides and musculature, in contrast to the simple agricultural equipment attached to them. You can imagine the amount of physical labor, both human and animal, required to work the land during this period. Koelman, though trained in the fine arts, has here taken on the task of documenting the daily life of laborers and their animal counterparts. Consider the cultural significance of this subject matter at a time when industrialization was beginning to transform agricultural practices. Drawings like this remind us of the connection between art and social context. They challenge traditional hierarchies that separate 'high' art from the everyday realities of labor and production.