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| Worn Out. Painted 1889. |
Hans Andersen Brendekilde Born 1857 in Denmark. Died 1942.
Classified as a Social-Realism painter, Brendekilde was a committed communist. Many of his paintings depict the social dislocation associated with rapidly moving technology.
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| The Road. Painted 1893 |
Many of his paintings depict children in the care of grandparents. The Road uses a road as a metaphor for the haves on one side and the have-nots on the other. The old couple is surviving, barely, by breaking rocks for gravel.
The building on right is a church (based on the bell-tower) and the church-goers have turned their backs to the needy people on the other side of the road.
The younger man (presumably a carpenter like Jesus Christ based on the saw he is holding), is making an impassioned pitch. One assumes he is telling of the joys of collective bargaining or Marxism.
The older couple is skeptical, perhaps because of the high-quality clothing the younger man is wearing. The child is fearful. Utility poles, signifying technical progress that dwarfs humans, march off into the distance.
That cat could paint. And now he is a good communist, ever since 1942. Pray for all the communists to become good. Preferably in this life.
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DeleteInteresting. It reminds me of Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth.
ReplyDeleteWorn Out looks to me like the hopeless communist version of the Christian "Angelus" by Jean-Francois Millet.---ken
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