Der Bauer 

Albin Egger-Lienz created *Der Bauer* in oil paint, using a relatively limited palette of browns, creams, and blacks. The loose application of paint gives a rawness to the scene, reflecting the harsh realities of rural life. Notice how the artist built up the forms of the figures and interior with thick, visible strokes. The heavy impasto adds a tactile quality, emphasizing the materiality of the paint itself, and reminding us of the physical labor involved in both farming and painting. The faceless figures, rendered with simple, blocky shapes, become symbols of the working class, their identities subsumed by their role in the agricultural landscape. Egger-Lienz clearly wasn't interested in idealizing rural life. Instead, he wanted to present a stark, unsentimental view of labor and the human condition. By focusing on the materials and the process of painting, he elevates the everyday struggles of the farmer to a monumental, almost heroic scale. This piece challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and craft, inviting us to consider the social and political context of its creation.