Farmyard with Two Figures by a Well and a Large Wheelbarrow in the Foreground 1760 - 1765

Hubert Robert created this sanguine drawing, Farmyard with Two Figures by a Well and a Large Wheelbarrow in the Foreground, sometime between 1733 and 1808, a period of immense social change in France. Robert, who was known for his images of picturesque ruins, here directs our gaze towards the rural, framing it as an idealized vision of labor. The figures, seemingly anonymous, are engulfed by the architecture of agrarian life. Note the careful staging, with the wheelbarrow casually overturned and the well-worn steps leading towards the figures, implying a sense of timeless toil. Hubert was imprisoned during the Revolution, perhaps this image hints at the societal shifts he was experiencing. It makes me wonder, was this drawing a wistful yearning for a bygone era or a reflection on the changing social landscape? What does it mean to look at the labor of others in the sanguine tones of nostalgia?