Volta do mercado 1886

António de Carvalho da Silva Porto painted ‘Volta do mercado’ in Portugal, sometime before 1893. The figures returning from market are presented as types rather than individuals. We might see this as a comment on the social structure of rural Portugal at the time, where the lives of ordinary people were often hard and anonymous. The painting shows a group of people riding donkeys along a dusty track. They are returning from the market, their donkeys laden with goods. The landscape is arid and the sun is high in the sky; some figures use umbrellas. The style is painterly and impressionistic, with loose brushstrokes and a bright palette. Silva Porto studied in Paris, and was part of a generation of Portuguese artists who were influenced by French Impressionism. But rather than focusing on modern urban life, they adapted impressionist techniques to depict the Portuguese countryside and its people. To understand this painting better, we might research the rural economy of Portugal in the late 19th century, and consider how this art relates to the social realities of its time.