Koe aan de rand van het water 1883

Léon Brunin made this etching of a cow by the water's edge in 1893. Cows and other farm animals rose to prominence in European art during the 19th century. They were potent symbols of rural life. In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, artists across Europe turned their attention to the countryside as a subject. You might see this as a form of cultural preservation. It was a way of life that was gradually disappearing. Brunin was a Belgian artist. He captures the essence of the animal and its connection to the land with remarkable economy of line. His emphasis on light and shadow gives the image a sense of immediacy and presence. To understand the painting better, you might like to research the history of agriculture in Belgium and the rise of landscape painting as a genre. This will reveal how this simple image of a cow speaks to broader social and cultural transformations.