Old Stables 1884

Curator: Let's take a look at Frederick McCubbin’s “Old Stables,” an oil painting from 1884. I am fascinated by the way the sunlight catches the back wall, a beautiful touch I think. Editor: My first impression is how melancholy it is; there's this quiet sense of dilapidation, like time is just slowly claiming everything. Curator: Exactly! Notice how McCubbin has carefully structured the composition. The arrangement of the buildings creates a sense of enclosure, almost trapping the viewer's eye. It leads one down into the shadowed stables area. How do you read the role of light in enhancing the melancholy, or challenging it, perhaps? Editor: I think light enhances the desolation. The high-key value range, particularly the way the sky presses down, contributes a somber note. Then there's this striking tonal contrast, light against dark inside the building structure: The darkness invites and intrigues, hinting that something—perhaps better, perhaps worse—is on its way. Curator: Ah, the promise of the unknown, maybe! Did McCubbin deliberately offer hope amidst decay? There's definitely an emotional weight communicated through these formal elements. Do the stable building materials suggest anything in that direction? Editor: Absolutely! There are juxtapositions between brick and decaying wood, but with these neutral colors and diffused lighting the material qualities start dissolving in one another. He is using paint as something more ethereal, more symbolic. The birds add movement. Curator: Those birds create a beautiful dance! Genre paintings, especially of commonplace locations such as these stables, prompt reflection on our connection to the land, our history. One cannot simply paint this sort of location without contemplating the purpose that it once served and no longer serves, can one? Editor: Right. The structure gives it a geometric frame, and the brushstrokes are applied thickly, yet blended carefully, further contributing to that somber note in a tactile way. But look at the horizon of roofs above – you can follow that zigzag form around the courtyard and consider how everything links. Curator: I love the way you observe everything there, all contributing to our emotional understanding of the painting's mood. Thanks so much for contributing to these new insights, the way everything links allows me to reflect on time in different terms.