This is a painting of a group of people, mostly men, engaged in laborious activities outdoors. The people are minimally clothed, with small pieces of cloth wrapped around their waists. On the left, a group of men appear to chop down trees and scrape the bark from them. One of them has a large rope wrapped around his shoulder. In the center, more men appear to forge tools or weapons, all facing a large anvil. Two men behind them appear to move a long rod into or out of a hot fire surrounded by smoke. On the right, two people follow large bulls, one of the people holding a brown sack or bag on…
Gallery mode Full size at the museum

Work

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (French, 1824 - 1898)

c. 1863

Medium
oil on canvas
Classification
Painting
Dimensions
overall: 108.5 x 148 cm (42 11/16 x 58 1/4 in.)
Culture
French
Museum
National Gallery of Art, CF
Credit line
Widener Collection
Rights
Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art

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