Introduction

Throughout the history of mankind, the concept of “work” has been thoroughly deliberated

and debated among the greatest thinkers and philosophers. However, it is not simply intellectuals

that can determine the definition and evolution of work. Artists had taken up the quest to educate

society on current beliefs and thought systems by creating critiques of their work environments.

Through their creative works, artists such as Seurat, Pissarro, and Renoir have provided the artist’s

point of view on the concept of work, especially during the tremulous time of the Industrial

Revolution where although the economy was booming, the rights of humanity were at stake.

Workers were being worked for several hours past humane limits and were paid as little as the

companies were able to in an attempt to gain the most profits. The paintings presented below

represent a symbolic break from the repetitive and consuming culture of “work” during renovation

and innovation.

Furthermore, the artists emphasize the idea of the “overlooked,” whether through the

subjects or their activities. The artists shine a spotlight on the overworked laborers and how society

often took their labor for granted, thus labeling them as overlooked. Moreover, the activities the

workers perform on their break symbolize a return to the mundane and how it must be normalized

to capture a sense of rest once more and escape a life of the established and normalized work

routine.

Even in today’s modern era, artists still perform an important role in our world. Artists

challenge the norm. Artists can redefine what has been established as the textbook definition.

Through the beauty of aesthetics and gentle brushstrokes, artists have the power to critique society

and its culture of labor. Artists can change what has already been decided, proving art is a powerful

metaphor for enacting political and social change. One must not underestimate the power of art as a
simple tool for pleasing the eye, but a tool to transform society from the bottom up. Once you

overlook the mastery of an artist’s brushstroke, you will find the true meanings behind the art. I

assure you, it is not simply an artist’s desire to create beauty but a manifestation of his thoughts onto

a blank canvas. Through paintings, an artist can take the underrepresented, the oppressed, the

silenced, and create a voice. The workers are overworked, the artists call. The artists insist that ease

of life is necessary. Humanity is all but dead, the artists cry!

And so society must change in response.

Picture 1, Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte

The first painting presented is Post-Impressionist Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the

Island of La Grande Jatte, painted from 1884-86 using oil on a canvas. Seurat’s painting was drawn

during the Second Industrial Revolution, therefore enacting a strong contrast between the heavy

day-to-day life of work and the splendor of leisure depicted above. The scene invokes a sense of

separation from reality as it shows relatively upper-class members of society, thus evoking questions

of reality. This painting proves that artists are not required to capture the ordinary but perhaps the

extraordinary. By drawing what is rather unusual at the time, Seurat may be critiquing the upper crust

of society on its leisurely habits while many lower-class members were struggling to survive.

Moreover, the striking disparity between the working class and the depicted figures may symbolize
the immobile state of French bourgeois society, with social revolution or change still elusive. The

rigid, upright postures of the subjects and their doll-like qualities hint not only at Seurat's frozen

tableau but also at a halt in societal advancement and the pursuit of universal rights.

Picture 2, Pissarro's Two Young Peasant Women

The picture above is Camille Pissarro’s Two Young Peasant Women, painted in 1891-92 and with

oil on canvas. Once again, a metaphorical “break” is depicted above as two women are pausing from

their work in the fields and taking time to converse with one another. Despite the calm scene, there

are hints of industrialization that suggest that the penetration of industrial labor is everywhere, even

in moments of relaxation. For example, if a viewer examines the women’s clothes closely, one can

see the graduation of colors on the sleeves, revealing heavily woven fabric through multicolor paints.

The woven fabric is an unconscious reminder of the lurking forces of industrialization that persist in

times of calmness. The scenery is almost devoid of buildings, factories, or signs of labor but it is the

indications of clothes or tools that suggest otherwise. It may suggest the threat that industrialization
poses to agrarian societies. Therefore, Pissarro could be calling for the preservation of agricultural

techniques in the face of rapid technological changes through his painting.

Picture 3, Renoir’s Grape Pickers at Lunch

Finally, the last painting is Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Grape Pickers at Lunch. Renoir painted this

piece of work in 1888 with oil on canvas. Like Pissarro’s Two Young Peasant Women, the painting shows

a group of grape pickers taking a break from work to lunch together. However, the difference

between Pissarro’s work and Renoir’s is the idea of a “mandatory break,” meaning that the grape

pickers paused at work simply because they had to eat to recharge. However, in Pissarro’s painting,

the workers are pausing simply to converse. Even so, the painting still shows a break within a

continuous era of work. To illustrate that they are at work, Renoir depicts the women in tightly,

pulled-back hair to suggest rigidity within work, contrasting with the casualness of the gathering.

However, the casualness is soon taken away when realizing that the pause is a continuation of work

because it is a mandatory break and that work must be resumed promptly. This painting is ultimately

a critique of industrialization because Renoir displays agricultural life with such vibrancy and vivid

imagery. Rural life is depicted as lively, despite the looming inevitability of work, through swirls and

whirls of long brushstrokes, creating an atmosphere of intimacy and casualness. The sweeping
brushstrokes join in harmony to create a picture of leisure that is further supported by the grape

pickers’ poses. Unlike Seurat’s painting, the subjects are not forced into a moment of stagnancy but

represent a continuation of time, possibly signaling that rural life should also continue despite rapid

industrialization as a form of societal freedom: the freedom to rest and work with leisure.