Disobedience in Danger 

James Ward painted "Disobedience in Danger" using oil, in a style that is both pastoral and imbued with a sense of underlying tension. The composition presents a scene where children, rendered in somewhat elongated forms, are seemingly fleeing from a bull. The figures, particularly the girls in their flowing white dresses, are arranged in a dynamic, almost rhythmic manner. They create a series of diagonal lines that intersect with the horizontal lines of the wooden fence. This juxtaposition introduces a subtle structural complexity. The color palette is soft and muted, dominated by the whites of the dresses and the greens and browns of the landscape, which creates a contrast with the stark red of the boy’s clothes, drawing the eye to his figure perched precariously on a fallen tree. Ward’s employment of line and form is not merely descriptive; the precariousness of the children's flight and the implied threat of the bull destabilizes the traditional, idealized view of pastoral life, suggesting a deeper commentary on vulnerability and the consequences of straying from the prescribed paths.