Twee vrouwen aan het werk op het land before 1901

Curator: This is a gelatin silver print called “Twee vrouwen aan het werk op het land” or “Two women working on the land.” It was created before 1901 by Alexis Mazourine. The photograph has a kind of austere beauty, a muted pastoral scene printed in tones that almost blend together. What jumps out for you? Editor: I’m struck by the starkness, but there's also something peaceful about it, despite the apparent difficulty of the women's labor. How do you interpret that contrast? Curator: Yes, the landscape almost flattens into planes. I find myself thinking about the modern impulse to document…and to aestheticize. Mazourine is capturing what is, undeniably, a harsh existence, the grueling reality of agricultural labor. Is he celebrating their work, or is he using it for artistic exploration? Perhaps, like the Modernists, he sought beauty and truth in unexpected places. It is not pretty but is powerfully direct. It feels almost clinical, like he's observing from a distance. Editor: That makes me think about the potential detachment in early photography. Were images like this seen as a social commentary at the time? Curator: Perhaps for some viewers. However, it also satisfied a taste for realism. These glimpses of 'everyday life’ are often loaded with constructed framing, posing the women, telling them where to stand, so we have an understanding, if partially concocted, of this past world. Do you notice the light, how flat and shadowless it is? Editor: Now that you point it out, it definitely contributes to the feeling of austerity. It removes so much depth, as does the vantage point from further away. This reminds me that art asks questions but provides no solid answers! Curator: I like that! Ambiguity can be the most valuable experience of engaging with art, a glimpse into a world we construct and a way to know ourselves better, too.