Artwork
Threshing in the Abruzzi. Cività d'Antino
Threshing in the Abruzzi. Cività d'Antino is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Peder Severin Krøyer. It dates from 1896 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work reads as an affirmation of the dignity of manual labour and a record of a specific locale's agrarian traditions.
The painting shows a threshing scene set in the town of Cività d'Antino in the Abruzzo region, featuring oxen pulling a threshing board while a man and a woman supervise the work. The composition emphasizes the rhythmic movement of the harvest and the interaction between people and livestock, typical of genre scenes celebrating rural labour. Krøyer's rendering conveys a sense of communal effort and the seasonal rhythm of agricultural life, using natural light to highlight the physicality of the task.
The work reads as an affirmation of the dignity of manual labour and a record of a specific locale's agrarian traditions.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 58 cm in height and 98.5 cm in width, created in 1896. Krøyer applied oil paint to render an Abruzzese harvest scene with a naturalistic touch that captures the movement of oxen and the male and female figures within the landscape. The composition reflects the genre-scene tradition, emphasizing everyday activity with careful attention to light and spatial depth.
Its formal qualities are defined by the balanced arrangement of figures and the subtle tonal modulation typical of the artist's mature period.
History & Provenance
Peder Severin Krøyer created the oil painting Threshing in the Abruzzi. Cività d'Antino in 1896. The work, depicting a harvest scene with oxen, a man, and a woman, was executed on canvas measuring 58 cm by 98.5 cm. It is held by the Statens Museum for Kunst as part of that museum's collection. No accession number or exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Peder Severin Krøyer’s 1896 oil painting, titled Threshing in the Abruzzi. Cività d'Antino, captures a bustling agricultural moment in a sun‑lit field. The canvas, now part of the Statens Museum for Kunst collection, presents a vivid snapshot of rural labor, emphasizing the interplay of light, movement, and the landscape’s golden tones.
Context
Created during a period when Krøyer traveled extensively in Italy, the canvas reflects his fascination with southern European countryside scenes. The Abruzzi’s agricultural practices, captured here, offered a contrast to the artist’s familiar Danish settings, allowing him to experiment with new light conditions and cultural atmospheres while maintaining his characteristic observational style.
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