“Ploughing in Tuscany,” created by Elizabeth Thompson, falls within the Romanticism art movement and is categorized as an animal painting. This artwork is part of the series “From Sketch-book and Diary,” published in 1909 by Elizabeth Butler.
The artwork depicts a pastoral scene set in the idyllic Tuscan countryside. Prominent in the composition are two robust oxen, their white coats contrasting vividly against the earthen tones of the ploughed field. They are yoked together, laboriously pulling a plough steered by a farmer, whose form is slightly obscured in the background but whose presence is integral to the narrative of rural toil. The terrain is punctuated with verdant foliage and the distant contours of rolling hills. Above, the sky is adorned with soft, tinted clouds, suggesting either dawn or dusk, and lending a serene, atmospheric quality to the scene. The use of color and light in this artwork captures the essence of Romanticism, emphasizing the beauty and simplicity of rural life.
