Study for ‘The Harvest Moon’ 1872

This is a study for ‘The Harvest Moon’ by George Hemming Mason, who lived in the 19th century. It's made with watercolor and gouache, which are not industrial materials but pigments that have been used by artists for centuries. The earthy quality of the paint lends itself beautifully to this scene of laborers working through the night. You can see that Mason has applied the materials in thin washes and opaque strokes, almost as if building up layers in a field. The figures emerge and disappear with each glance, with the harvest under the moonlight. The labor of harvest is not easy, and this study highlights the raw toil involved in working the land, with the artist revealing the physical effort put into this type of work. ‘The Harvest Moon’ and studies such as this ask us to question the value we place on labor and the artistic traditions used to depict everyday life.