The Straw Bale 1879

Jean Ferdinand Chaigneau created this black and white etching, called ‘The Straw Bale’, during a time when French art was deeply engaged with rural life and labor. Chaigneau, who came from a family of artists, focused on pastoral scenes, often featuring animals and farmers in the fields. In this etching, we see a large straw bale, a testament to agricultural work, with sheep grazing peacefully nearby. What does it mean to capture the essence of rural life? During this period many artists romanticized farm life, but it’s also important to acknowledge the hardships faced by agricultural workers, and the class and social hierarchies of the time. 'The Straw Bale' invites us to reflect on our relationship with the land, the sources of our sustenance, and the often unseen labor that sustains us all.