Fine Art Tuesday

 

The Grass Cutter, 1890s

Daniel Ridgway Knight: Born 1839 in Philadelphia. Died 1924. Most of his paintings were made in France. Commercially successful. What is not to like about paintings of pretty, French girls? 

The notable thing about Knight's paintings is that the pretty, French peasant girls were nearly always carrying a basket, a jug or some other means of conveyance.

In this image, the girl has a bag of grass that is undoubtedly destined to her family's lapins (rabbits). A closer look at the girl shows that she has a second bag tied about her waist as a apron. A pretty slick system.

A version of this is available HERE. Its functionality might be enhanced if 6" ties were sewn into the lower, back corners to help convert it to a satchel.

The girl is also wearing "sabots" or wooden shoes.

The Shepherdess of Rolleboise, 1896.

The girl appears to be about 14. She is wearing sabots and a multitude of layers including a hooded cape. Her outer-apron or outer dress may also function as a bag for collecting. She is holding some kind of digging tool, one that resembles a corn planting tool.

The sheep in the background are grazing in a river-side apple orchard.

A close-up of the Shepherdess. Her cape closes with a drawstring (you can see the puckering on the top of the cape above her left shoulder) and the design is not too different from the multi-purpose grass cape/mat/rainfly worn by Ötzi the Iceman 4500 years ago.