Forskellige studier. F.o.t.v. en mand med en spade, f.o.t.h. en hest med seletøj, f.n.t.v. en siddende mand med et flettet bur med fugle 1845

Johan Thomas Lundbye made this drawing with pen, ink and watercolor on paper, during his travels in Europe in the 1840s. The rapid, economic strokes of ink, combined with delicate washes of color, suggest the pace of production, more akin to reportage than a finished painting. Lundbye depicts studies of working figures, from a man with a spade to a horse with a harness, each quickly captured. Notice especially the figure seated beside a birdcage, its intricate wickerwork rendered with remarkable efficiency. These images offer a glimpse into the economies and social structures of 19th-century Europe. The artist's focus on labor, from the cultivation of land to the trapping of birds, underscores the material conditions of everyday life. Lundbye’s loose sketches, with their attention to the activities of ordinary people, encourage us to consider how art intersects with the narratives of labor and society.