Burdocks 1875

Editor: We're looking at Vasily Polenov's "Burdocks," painted in 1875. It's an oil painting that really strikes me with its unusual focus—we're so close to these plants, and they’re not the most conventionally beautiful subject. What’s your take on this particular slice of nature? Curator: Well, focusing on seemingly mundane subjects became quite important in the latter half of the 19th century. This intimate portrayal moves away from idealized landscapes to look at how landscape painting began to grapple with industrialisation. This image is more interested in observing and appreciating nature’s minutiae – did nature become a kind of refuge from growing cities? Editor: That's an interesting point! So, in a way, Polenov isn't just painting plants; he’s making a statement about society’s relationship with the natural world? Curator: Precisely. Notice also how Polenov’s choice to depict this angle implies an unglamorous vantage point - not the typical sweeping vista. Who gets to paint, what they choose to paint and how becomes rather important. Why elevate burdocks and not roses, for instance? Editor: I never considered that, it also feels quite contemporary, in that way. Is Polenov's choice a kind of early environmental statement? Curator: That's a compelling idea! I’m not sure "environmental" is exactly how his contemporaries would have interpreted it, but it does reveal an interest in elevating the everyday. What does that reveal about Russian society at the time, though? That might be another line of questioning. Editor: So much to consider. I’ll never look at a simple landscape the same way. Thank you. Curator: My pleasure. Keep asking those insightful questions.