Of The Soil 1936

G. Ralph Smith made this lithograph, "Of The Soil," at some point during his long life. Look at how the texture is built up: the soil has this fantastic rough cross-hatching, which gives it a tactile quality, and you can almost feel the effort of the plow. It's like Smith understood artmaking as a process of building something from nothing. And look at how the light glows behind the horses! The whole image is this great dance between light and dark, with the figures emerging from the shadows. It's so visceral. I love how he renders the horses; they're not just horses, they're like symbols of raw power and labor. It reminds me a bit of some of Kathe Kollwitz's prints, in that it finds beauty and dignity in the everyday struggle of working people. Ultimately, it's not about perfection, but about feeling. It's this sense of honest, gritty beauty that sticks with you.