Milkmaid 1915

Mykhailo Boychuk painted this milkmaid, we don't know exactly when, but it speaks of the relationship between humans and their environment. It's a scene rendered in earthy tones, with blues and greens dominating, and ochre in the milkmaid's skin, and in the woods behind. The trees almost form a kind of barrier or frame around her. There's something very direct about the marks in this piece: the trees are upright lines, as is the milkmaid herself. She looks solid and dependable. The way Boychuk has painted her you get a sense of the weight she is carrying, the labor involved in the process of milk production and distribution. Note the details of the wooden pails, and the way they're suspended, this is someone who is completely in tune with her surrounding environment. Looking at 'Milkmaid' I'm reminded of the work of Fernand Léger, who also reduced forms to their basic components. Like Léger, Boychuk was interested in depicting the everyday lives of ordinary people, a kind of poetry in the mundane.