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ONLINECOLLECTION

The Harvesters, 1923

Leopold Museum,
Vienna © Bildrecht,
Vienna 2022
Oil on wood
72×95.2 cm

Artists

  • Josef Dobrowsky

    (Karlsbad/Karlovy Vary 1889–1964 Tullnerbach)

Unfortunately not on display at the moment
In the early 1920s, Josef Dobrowsky (1889–1964) was a regular at the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum where he took some inspiration particularly from Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525/20–1569). The Harvesters of 1923 also relates back to the tradition-honored art that preceded this work. Like with Bruegel, the representation of the subject of the harvest is followed by a cycle of the seasons. The village scene in earthy warm colors shows a moment of agitation when bundles of harvested grain are brought in and secured from a rising storm. With Dobrowsky, atmosphere means both weather and mood. Like with his contemporary Albin Egger-Lienz (1868–1926) the hard-working peasants appear massive because of the flatness of their depiction. Egger Lienz’s Reapers in Rising Storm and Dobrowsky’s The Harvesters both address the subject of how humans—often with an enormous effort, and yet in vain—try to stand up to the overpowering forces of nature.

Object data

Artist/author
  • Josef Dobrowsky
Title
The Harvesters
Date
1923
Art movement
Expressionism
Category
Painting
Material​/technique
Oil on wood
Dimensions
72×95.2 cm
Signature
Monogrammed and dates lower right: 1923
Credit line
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 64
Inventory access
Contributed to the Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung in 1994
Keywords

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i
Dr. Rudolf Leopold, Wien (o.D.);
Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, Wien (seit 1994).

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