Port of Anzio 

Ernest Hébert’s painting, Port of Anzio, captures a scene of daily life with oil on canvas. It’s a moment suspended outside the march of great events, and yet it reveals something about the social and economic realities of its time. This work shows fishermen resting and repairing nets by their boats. The image reflects the influence of the Barbizon school, with its emphasis on the everyday lives of rural people. Painted during a period of significant social change in France, as industrialization drew more people to urban centers, this work romanticizes the traditional labor and communal life of a coastal village in Italy. Historical research, including studies of fishing communities, economic data on the fishing industry, and exhibition reviews, would help us to more fully understand the social context of this image. What are the implications of the gaze of a French artist upon the Italian working class?