Drover with Oxen Pulling a Cart 1840 - 1841

Editor: Here we have "Drover with Oxen Pulling a Cart," a watercolor and drawing by Théodore Chassériau, created around 1840-1841. The oxen seem so full of raw energy, but also burdened. What catches your eye when you look at this work? Curator: Immediately, I see the material conditions of early 19th-century transportation represented here. Consider the labor involved: the drover, the oxen, the cart itself – all elements of a system of production and distribution. How does Chassériau elevate what would've been common labor into 'art'? Is this romanticising labor? Editor: That’s an interesting point, that Chassériau’s actually highlighting everyday work and not, say, classical heroes. But doesn’t the artistic medium, watercolor, already kind of… distance it from the dirt and toil? Curator: Perhaps. But think about the physical act of *making* the art itself. The sourcing of the pigments, the crafting of the paper, Chassériau's own physical exertion. The artwork *itself* is the result of labor. And think about how the "original" has an art market value completely divorced from the actual material conditions that resulted in it. What impact has the industrial revolution, then underway, had on artistic practices and markets? Editor: That's true, and I never thought about it that way! So by looking at the materials and the making, we get a totally different angle on this seemingly simple pastoral scene. I like that. Curator: Exactly! It prompts us to question how we value art, and what labor goes unseen in its creation and its interpretation. Editor: It makes me appreciate how much consideration goes into art beyond the subject. Thanks, I learned a lot from this! Curator: Likewise! Seeing the familiar from a new perspective is always rewarding.