Went into the hill country 1894

Vasily Polenov painted "Went into the hill country" in the late 19th century, using oil. It represents a lone woman walking along a stone path in a sunlit, hilly landscape. Polenov was a Russian artist who traveled to the Middle East in the 1880s. He sought to capture the landscapes and people of biblical lands with an ethnographic realism. The painting evokes a sense of timelessness and simplicity. The artist's identity as Russian is crucial. As a member of the Russian elite, Polenov's romanticized vision of biblical life might express both an idealized religious devotion and a distanced perspective on the lives of ordinary people in Palestine. Was Polenov also subtly commenting on the peasant classes in Russia, and on the institutions of serfdom and feudalism? The art historian might use travel accounts, letters, and other documents to illuminate these questions. The meaning of art depends on the social and institutional context.