Harvest 

L.A. Ring painted this image of a rural worker, likely in Denmark, using oil on canvas. Look closely and you can see the painting is a world of labor and materials. Ring’s work is defined by a specific process: the act of harvesting. We see the worker in motion, swinging the scythe, ready to cut through more of the ripe crop. This moment of labor is captured in the rough texture of the paint strokes and the deliberate detail in the rendering of the crops. The image is infused with the weight of labor, the feel of the wooden tool, and the social reality of the time. What Ring has done is to monumentalize the work of harvest, presenting it as worthy of our attention. Ultimately, this is an image that transcends the traditional boundaries of fine art, rooting itself in the material and social context of labor.