The Far Hill

The Alders (?)
Haymaking

Oil on Canvas
29 x 39 ¾ in.
c. 1890
1931.391.107
On display in: Haggin Room

The stark light-dark contrast of this painting – so similar to Corot’s early work and that of his later followers – give the impression of luminosity for which Monchablon was best known. As in Early Afternoon, the artist selects a low vantage point that puts the viewer on the level of the harvesters. Once again, he carefully leads the eye into the distance, but this time more gradually, along cart tracks and a rake in the immediately foreground, which point to haystacks and a peasant woman working, then to a cluster of trees, and finally to the distant rise of the hill. The artist’s painting technique also helps to imply depth. Thick, visible brushstrokes in the foreground suggest stubble and cut hay, while smooth, thin application makes distant features seem farther away. Likewise, the intensive yellow-greens and oranges of the near view pull forward from the faded pastels farther back. The forceful color changes are explained by a brilliant sun that, judging by the small shadows, is near its zenith. The same sun paled the sky that fills more than half the painting, transforming it into a vast luminous screen.

Text by Patricia B. Sanders reprinted from The Haggin Collection (available for purchase at the Museum Store)
© 1991 by the San Joaquin Pioneer and Historical Society