The Early Ploughman

The Early Ploughman

ArtistSamuel Palmer (English, 1805 – 1881)
Date1861
Medium or TechniqueEtching on laid paper
Dimensions5 1/4 x 7 3/4 inches
CollectionSyracuse University Art Galleries
Accession NumberSUAC 1963.0587
Credit LineSyracuse University Art Collection, gift of Mr. Cloud Wampler

Description


Samuel Palmer created The Early Ploughman (1861) in the middle of his etching career. Bringing an Italianate feel to a British landscape, he depicts men hard at work tending to their oxen as a woman watches carrying a water pitcher against the early morning sky. He emphasizes the simplistic relationship between rural folk and their natural environments during a time of increasing industrialization. Various versions of the etching were created by Palmer as well by his son, Alfred Herbert Palmer.