Na konci dediny 1875 - 1885

Ladislav Mednyánszky captured this view of a village edge using pastels, a medium that perfectly suits the image’s melancholic mood. Pastels are interesting because they sit between drawing and painting; they are essentially pure pigment, bound together with just enough medium to hold their shape. Looking closely, you can see the marks made as Mednyánszky applied the pastels to the paper. The dry, powdery quality of the material lends itself to the muted palette and soft focus of the composition. The scene depicts the hardscrabble reality of rural life, which Mednyánszky knew well. As a nobleman, he had the option of a more privileged existence, but he chose instead to spend much of his time among the peasants and laborers of the Austro-Hungarian countryside, documenting their lives with empathy. In this work, the directness of the pastel medium mirrors the unvarnished depiction of a world far removed from the centers of power.