Peasant with a Pipe c. 1880s

Curator: Here we have Adolf Oberlaender's "Peasant with a Pipe," a diminutive etching and drypoint piece residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Oh, what a character! He looks like a disgruntled garden gnome, puffing away in his own little world. Curator: Indeed. The etching technique, particularly the drypoint, allowed Oberlaender to create those rich, velvety blacks in the figure's clothing and pipe. It highlights the toil, the very labor embedded in his social class. Editor: The smoke curling around him, though… almost like he's conjuring the landscape itself. It’s as if he’s both part of and somehow creating the very world he inhabits through each puff. Curator: An insightful point. Let us not overlook how this reflects a dialogue on labor representation in art, particularly around peasant identities. Editor: Well, I'm off to buy a pipe and see if I can conjure my own landscape! Curator: Ha! A fitting ambition, indeed. A reminder to us all of art's capacity for transformation.