Twee panelen met representaties van september en oktober in het stadhuis te Nancy before 1896

These two panels, representing September and October, were designed by an anonymous artist to decorate the town hall of Nancy, France. The panels use a classical visual language to represent the months. The allegorical figures of women framed in ovals draw on well-established visual codes. Here, we might think of the ‘harvest’ or ‘plenty’ that are evoked by the women’s actions. The image of September shows a woman gathering fruit and October shows another one pouring grapes from a basket. These images create meaning through association with annual harvest festivals and seasonal produce that has been central to French agricultural life for centuries. This artwork invites us to reflect on the cultural and social history of France. These panels link the functioning of local government and the everyday life of the citizens of Nancy. By consulting local historical sources, we can understand how artworks such as these were incorporated into the institutions of the French state.