NAGY BALOGH, János
(b. 1874, Budapest, d. 1919, Budapest)

Women Harvesting Potatoes

1901-05
Olaj, vászon, 37 x 54 cm
Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, Budapest

János Nagy Balogh seldom drifted away from the world of enclosed spaces and when he did, it was never far from his home. In his representations of the labourers working on nearby streets he studied the movements of human beings engaged in physical work. The monumental figures of his peasant women working in the fields, a theme inspired by Millet, are silhouetted against a horizon in which the blue sky and the haystack-spotted green field meet. In the strong sunlight the lit and shaded parts sharply separate, the clumsy figures, represented by powerful spots of paint picture the solemn struggle of agricultural workers.