Carrying Corn

Carrying Corn by Ford Madox Brown is a rich-coloured oil on mahogany painting. The artwork shows a harvest field before sunset and comprises landscape components highlighted in deep colours. The masterpiece dates to 1854-1855 and captures a nostalgic perspective of rural England.

The artist is an idealist, who believed in spiritual redemption from industrialization and modern life. The artist was inspired by the landscape of a harvest field in Hendon, which included hayricks, a small farmhouse, and turnips. During the creation period, Brown, who lived in Finchley at the time, he would visit Hendon and change his perspective. The subject he captures in the painting is difficult as his view would change due to the different light or weather on each visit.

Through powerful colour contrasts and deep shadows of a late afternoon, the artist manages to encapsulate the subtle beauty of the field. The sky is painted with blue and pink pastel colours and soft strokes of the brush. You'll see a few birds flying over the field, which offer a soothing dynamic to the masterpiece. The tiny silhouettes of the haymakers and the woman in the field, who is half-hidden, bring a specific movement to the landscape. Although the painting seems still, the dynamics of the characters and the flock of birds, bring it to life.

Carrying Corn comprises a play of light and darkness. The artist uses darker green colours to hide the untouched landscape and lighter yellow colours to highlight the haystacks. With a focus on the production yield, the artist is showing how nature provides riches when it's protected from industrialization. The natural order brings out fortune and protection.

Carrying Corn was painted by Ford Madox Brown between 1854 and 1855. It's mahogany on oil painting, which captures the harvest field in Hendon of rural England. Because the artist was living in a different town than where the field existed, he changed his perspective many times. The painting participated in the Summer Exhibition of 1855 organized by the Royal Academy, but it wasn't selected. It was later sold to an art dealer for a low value of £12. For this reason, the artist considered that "little landscapes" aren't profitable and take up too much time to be worth creating.