Peasant Figures and Landscape: A Means of Artistic and Political Statement in the French 1800s

Pastoral landscapes have long since been used to portray a sense of social, political, and economic idealism, and the peasant figures housed in these particular landscapes and portraits developed significantly during the 19th century in France. Impressionists like Pissarro, van Gogh, and Cézanne used their art to define not only a sentiment of naturalistic idealism but also a question about the trajectory of modernity, specifically relating to the booming industrial era. We see in this exhibition a progressive movement of color and emotion in the portrayal of pastoral, peasant landscapes. The objective of this exhibition is to consider the following question: In the context of 19th century industrialism and heightened modernization, how did artists seek a return to the old and idyllic of farmland simplicity and of the peasantry? In order to address this idea, our curatorial project begins in 1803 with Jean Jacques de Boissieu’s etched Peasants Resting, which provides a framework for the exhibition. The six compositions featured in this gallery, both larger landscape renderings and closer perspective portraits, are arranged in chronological order and together suggest that there existed in the French 19th century a desire for less emphasis on modern glamour and society, in favor of simplistic and harmonious peasant livelihood.

Jean Jacques de Boissieu, Peasants Resting, 1803, Etching with dry-point and roulette; fourth state of four, 7 7/8 × 9 13/16 in., 47.100.636

This early 19th century etching portrays a gathering of peasant figures and a child who rest before a receding landscape of land and water. The faces of the figures are soft, worn from their work, but not unkind. We see distant figures working the land and fishing in the body of water. Shadows and light are arranged in such a way which illuminates the faces of the peasant figures, giving perhaps a sense of honor to their vocation and social status. The figures are the focal point of the etching, with their simple costuming and farming tools. Boissieu is perhaps suggesting an honesty about the peasant folk, something that the more eccentric and modern city-dwellers may not grasp.

Jean-François Millet, Shepherdess Seated on a Rock, 1856 Oil on wood, 14 1/8 x 11 1/8 in., 1983.446

Millet here portrays a peasant shepherdess resting on a rock, sewing a garment, while her flock grazes in the background. The flock of sheep and peasant figures on the distant horizon serve to establish this figure’s placement in society and to reflect our gaze back to her, the focal point of this composition. She sits pensively while she mends the garment, and we are allowed to wonder about her inward thoughts. The muted and softly blended colors in this composition suggest a sentiment, a longing, of an idyllic and simplistic lifestyle, free from the concerns of modern industry and technology. The greenery behind this figure seems to enclose her, to suggest the draw and wonder of the natural landscape.

Camille Pissarro, Fan Mount: The Cabbage Gatherers, 1878-79, Gouache on silk, 6 1/2 x 20 1/2 in., 1994.105

The selection of material, a silk fan mount, alludes to a blending of nature and material and of labor and livelihood. Pissarro created many similar renderings of peasant figures working in their pastoral landscapes, and this fan mount with female figures gives us a sense of the artist’s delicate admiration of nature and the peasantry. His use of warm, soft colors and of simple costuming on the figures evokes the further sentiment of harmony with the land. Pissarro was a self-proclaimed anarchist, and he often chose to represent his radicalism through soft representations of farm laborers. Here, the figures work the land in a traditional manner, unlike the new mechanisms of mass production which manipulated new technologies that often replaced human labor. In this sense, Pissarro perhaps elevates the status of these figures. This piece was originally purchased by an American collector, Louisine Elder.

Vincent van Gogh, Women Picking Olives, 1889, Oil on canvas, 28 5/8 x 36 in., 1995.535

Though represented in a different style of impressionism, that which is unique to van Gogh, this composition follows suit in the tradition of landscape paintings with peasant figures. Here, van Gogh represents three female figures, dressed in simple working costumes, working in an olive grove. This scene is simple – there are no external or modern distractions wrought upon the figures. Rather, they are concentrated on their labor and their working harmony with each other. The pink sky suggests a certain friendliness about the scene, as do the greens and yellows used here. Van Gogh has often been appreciated for his drawings of cityscapes, but this outlier suggests his fascination with the natural world, specifically the pastoral tradition. Van Gogh intended this work for his mother and sister.

Camille Pissarro, Two Young Peasant Women, 1891-92, Oil on canvas, 35 1/4 x 45 7/8 in., 1973.311.5

The use of a triangular spatial dimension creates harmony and balance within the work, along with the smoothness and subtlety of the texture and the softness of color. The color palette in this work creates a sense of companionship between the women and the land, as the colors are unified yet are separated by individual brush strokes. We observe light, cheerful colors here, with the darker colors serving as factors of spatial dimension and shadowing. A fellowship with and between the female figures is received in this image, a taking part in their ease and rest within the rural landscape. This composition seems to be set in opposition to the chaos of modern industrialism and life. We feel ourselves compelled to sit alongside the peasant figures in their friendship and in their work in the landscape.

Paul Cézanne, Seated Peasant, 1892-96, Oil on canvas, 21 1/2 x 17 3/4 in., 1997.60.2

Dressed in simple costuming, this representational male figure suggests Cézanne’s understanding of the hardship of labor competition brought on by the Industrial Revolution. The dark colors of the figure’s garments stand in contrast to previously featured works of peasants working in the fields or resting. Cézanne was perhaps emphasizing a need for widespread reform and the return to a more simplistic time of agriculture. This peasant figure has most likely felt his life changed from its traditional ways because of the increasing push for modernizing. Cézanne often portrayed lower-class card players living in Aix-en-Provence, France, and this man is dressed similarly to those figures, suggesting a certain familiarity.