Faneuses À Ville D’avray 

Camille Corot made this painting of haymakers at Ville d’Avray using oils on canvas. Note the rather loose, open weave of the fabric, especially visible in the sky. The strokes of paint don't so much describe the landscape as enact it, the dappled touches of color stand for the shimmering qualities of light in the French countryside. It's a gestural, almost physical process, this translation of observation into art. We might see it as quite different from the labor performed by the workers depicted. They are shown wielding rakes, gathering cut hay. Yet there's a connection, for sure. Corot wasn't attempting photographic realism. Rather, he was bringing his own form of toil to bear. He was interested in registering the tempo of the scene before him. And in doing so, he elevated this scene of common labor to something lyrical and timeless. In the end, it all comes down to touch and materiality, whether wielding a rake or a brush.