Erf met vogels en gebukte figuur 1871 - 1945

Curator: This etching by Georges Lemeilleur, entitled "Erf met vogels en gebukte figuur", or "Farmyard with Birds and Crouching Figure," invites us into a serene pastoral scene. The work was produced sometime between 1871 and 1945. Editor: It's deceptively simple, isn't it? The black and white creates a kind of hushed, almost dreamlike atmosphere, like a memory half-recalled. All the curving lines lead toward that squat farmhouse partially concealed by the trees. Curator: The scene is quintessential genre-painting, reflecting an enduring artistic fascination with rural life and labor. It’s also the kind of imagery embraced and cultivated in the emerging tourist industry of the late 19th and early 20th century to sell images of "authentic" local traditions to urban consumers. Editor: The abundance of fowl, chickens and what appear to be Guinea fowl scattered about the farmyard – what would these birds symbolize in this setting, do you think? Fertility? Prosperity? Domestic harmony perhaps? They definitely add a dynamic energy to the scene. Curator: Most likely the answer is both, or at least one helps influence another; you see, the figures would symbolize both of those at that time. Images of abundant animals could invoke societal values. The figure, slightly bowed and to the side gives focus to those cultural symbols. Editor: And then you notice the crouching figure; almost blends in at first. To me, it subtly shifts the mood from purely idyllic. Is she weary, burdened, or simply focused on her task? What is the role of labor, and how might the labor of such work be thought of, idealized, perhaps, as more 'genuine' by urban consumers? Curator: Interesting point; her positioning reminds the viewer that the work still has to happen on such idyllic and simple lands, even with the technological advancement and growing consumerism from the rising urban areas. The way Lemeilleur contrasts the figures’ actions with his treatment of nature makes for great imagery to invoke an interpretation of nostalgia in his viewers. Editor: It gives us a glimpse into how social constructs about work can be presented. The placement of the work really evokes emotional contemplation on the subjects represented here. Curator: A contemplation reflecting perhaps, a longing for an imagined past, even at the turn of the century in an era of societal change.