The artwork named “Haymaking” was created by Camille Pissarro in 1874. It’s an oil on canvas painting that belongs to the Impressionism movement. The painting has dimensions of 45.5 x 54.8 cm and can be categorized as a genre painting, depicting everyday life scenes. “Haymaking” is currently housed at the Fitzwilliam Museum, which is part of the University of Cambridge, located in Cambridge, UK.
In the painting “Haymaking,” Pissarro depicts a rural landscape scene focused on the agricultural task of haymaking. The setting is tranquil and pastoral, with a vast sky overhead that is rendered with soft, diffused light, characteristic of Impressionist works. In the foreground, a figure stands prominently in the field, working with hay. Behind the figure, the field recedes into the middle distance where a few other people can be seen engaged in similar agricultural tasks. A group of tall, narrow trees punctuates the horizon line on the left, creating a sense of verticality that contrasts with the horizontal expanse of the field. The palette consists primarily of greens, blues, and earth tones, highlighting nature’s hues and the open air. Pissarro’s brushstrokes are loose and visible, adding texture to the scene and emphasizing the fleeting qualities of light and atmosphere that Impressionist artists sought to capture.
