Städtchen am Fluß, rechts ein Heuwagen 1763

Gerard van Rossum created this drawing of a town on the river, with a hay wagon to the right, using pen and brush in the 18th century. Van Rossum has used the most basic of materials: paper, ink, and water. The application is deft, particularly when rendering the reflections in the river. It's a traditional application of artistry, not industrial at all. Note the scale of the hay wagon relative to the church and houses. The artist clearly wants to emphasize the labor-intensive harvesting of hay. It is an activity intimately bound up with the cycles of nature. While the drawing is exquisitely done, it is not grandstanding in any way. It quietly celebrates the virtue of honest work, and gives dignity to the labor of these rural people. This connects it to a long history of such images, and a whole aesthetic associated with the celebration of handwork and the everyday.