The main theme of the picture is ploughing with oxen. The composition of the image is conceived diagonally. In the foreground, three pairs of oxen are laboriously pulling a plough. Behind them you can see two figures of peasants in caps, one of whom is driving the oxen with a whip and the other steering… Continue reading Ploughing With Oxen
Agriculture in Art
A Visit From The Veterinarian
In 1880, when cattle were commonly part of communities, most people seeing this image would probably have understood the story it tells. Today, since few people have exposure to cattle in any way, the details of the scene are easy to overlook without a little interpretation. There are two cattle in the picture, and one… Continue reading A Visit From The Veterinarian
The Political Symbolism of the Triple Yoke in Castile in the 15th-16th Century
Many agricultural implements have been elevated to the status of symbols, either as representatives of a social class or, as with a special type of yoke, as a symbol of an idea of political domination. Ferdinand II of Aragon (reign 1472-1516) chose a yoke for three animals as his personal emblem and, although it appeared… Continue reading The Political Symbolism of the Triple Yoke in Castile in the 15th-16th Century
What the stained glass of Notre-Dame de Chartres cathedral tells us about stockraising
In the medieval Occident, ‘the countryside is everything’: nearly 90% of the population tilled the earth, and in the portals of churches, in frescos, stained glass windows or in prayer books, we see ever and again the works of the months, most of them relating directly to the main sectors of agriculture – grain-growing, wine-production… Continue reading What the stained glass of Notre-Dame de Chartres cathedral tells us about stockraising
From a 350-million-year-old fossil to a contemporary glass sculpture, the story of an artwork that was a long time in the making.
The Creeping and The Wise by Anne Vibeke Mou. (Photo by John McKenzie) In 2018 UK-based artist Anne Vibeke Mou embarked upon a research project exploring the history of the North of Scotland’s kelp industry (kelp ash was once used as an ingredient for glass making), as part of her ongoing work A Botany of… Continue reading From a 350-million-year-old fossil to a contemporary glass sculpture, the story of an artwork that was a long time in the making.
Agriculture & the International Year of Glass 2022
Agriculture? Glass? What’s the connection? Fig. 1. Stained Glass Panel, Labours of the Months (October – breaking up clods and scattering wheat), 1450-1475, England. From Cassiobury Park, Hertfordshire. Source: Commons Wikimedia. Have you ever thought about how farmers and market gardeners care for “baby” plants, for example, by covering them with a glass cloche to… Continue reading Agriculture & the International Year of Glass 2022
The Agricultural Year in Stained glass: Labours of the Month from medieval to present day
Humans are creatures of habit, and since the prehistoric era have kept track of time. A popular artistic representation of the calendar year from the medieval period onwards were Labours of the month, each of which symbolised a month of the year and depicted a relevant seasonal agricultural activity or pastime. Labours of the Month… Continue reading The Agricultural Year in Stained glass: Labours of the Month from medieval to present day
Stained Glass Windows in the National Museum of Agriculture in Szreniawa, Poland
Creator: Maria Powalisz-Bardońska (1935-2021) Established in: 1974 Material: lead, metal, overglaze paint, stained glass (patinated), tin (tin binder) Dimensions (in meters): Height: 2.20 Width: 4 Origin: Stained Glass Workshop Powalisz, Poznań Inventory no .: A-959 / 1-2 These stained-glass windows consist of 15 sections (five sections horizontally, in three rows) of colored glass patinated at… Continue reading Stained Glass Windows in the National Museum of Agriculture in Szreniawa, Poland