The Art of Ordinary Labor

Artworks

• The Gleaners, 1857, Jean-François Millet, Oil on canvas, 32.5 × 43.5 in. (83.8 × 111 cm). (2026) — The Gleaners is a painting which shows the strength of the lower class. It shows three women that were sent out at the end of the day to pick up the leftover grains from the harvest. It shows them in a repetition of one woman bending down to grab the grain, the other grabbing it, and the last one bringing it back up to secure it. It shows a very tiring process with heavy shadows on them. In the background there is a blurred out town or houses painted reverie softly with pastels. In the field still behind the women there is still a cart of her being pulled and an isolated man still on horseback. That act could be seen as that they are being supervised and to conduct their jobs accurately. The distance of the man could be a reminder of the landlord that he is representing and to take accountability. Millet uses this painting very well in showing that every struggle and labor back in the day also demands representation in their story, too, because it can also show its beauty and strength.
• The Potato Eaters, 1885, Vincent van Gogh, Oil on canvas, 32 × 45 in. (82 × 114 cm). (2026) — The potato eaters is a powerful piece that represents the strength and unity that are people from the working class. Van Gogh portrayed this by using earthy colors like muted yellows, greens, and brown in his painting and rough brush strokes to give it more of a worn or dusty feeling to it. He painted a family of five in the center of the painting enjoying a nice meal together out of potatoes and some other beverage. The characters are painted very exaggerated with their facial features and their hands which are not painted to scale. In the foreground it seems to be a very simple home with only one light fixture that is above the family's table lighting up the home. The family seems to be tired from working all day but they seem to be brought together which shows unity and peace from their everyday survival. Van Gogh transforms this simple moment from a family into a reflection into real humanity and their everyday life. It shows the beauty of such a moment with their beautiful bond that connects them all, but it also shows the hardships that brought them there. This painting still makes a very big impact on us now because it represents the strength, dignity, and honor of these people's daily lives even though most of these efforts go unnoticed. This painting notices all of those people today.
• The Flower Carrier, 1935, Diego Rivera, Oil and tempera on masonite, 48 × 48 in. (121.9 × 121.9 cm). (2026) — The flower carrier is a powerful depiction of the endurance of the working class. Diego uses scale and color to show the view the weight of the burdens the worker carries and the sacrifice they make just by trying to live. The main male figure is kneeled down on the ground and is wearing a plain white outfit with a yellow hat. He is carrying an oversized basket filled with flowers and he looks to be struggling to get up. The flowers in the basket are brightly colored and are repeated as the goods that are being produced by these people. This image shows that from an everyday object we might overlook that pain and struggle that one is having to do to give it to use. There is also a woman on the right side trying to help the man up. She represents the unity, the strength, and cooperation that these people have with one another, which is the true beauty.
• Migrant Mother, 1936, Dorothea Lange, Gelatin silver photograph, 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm). (2026) — Migrant Mother is a very powerful way to capture the emotional and physical difficulties of surviving the great depression. In the picture we can see it scaled up close to a mother with what is to be three children. She is facing the camera but looking off into the distance with a weird worried look on her face. Her hand is propped up on her chin making her look unsure of how she is going to manage the uncertainty of the future. She is supposedly holding a child in her lab but we cannot see it. There are also her two other children resting on both of her shoulders, one on each side looking away from the camera, almost hiding. The composition is also in black and white and their clothes are rather simple so it gives the family a sense of struggle to them. When looking at the mother, we don't just see the woman's struggle; we also see the determination on her face, giving hope to the family.
• Nighthawks, 1942, Edward Hopper, Oil on canvas, 33.1 × 60 in. (84.1 × 152.4 cm). (2026) — Nighthawk is shown to be in the middle of a big city after hours. There seems to be no one around and all the shops closed other than a diner on the right side. The viewer seems to be outside of the diner looking in. The building's glass has a slight curve, drawing the viewer in. There are only four people in the diner. There is one man sitting alone, a waiter preparing something and a man and woman sitting together. None of these people are talking together and almost make them feel distant from one another. The lighting in the room is warm with yellows and reds, making it feel comfortable compared to the dark outside. Yet without the conversation, the painting looks very lonely.