Almeida Junior, Jose Ferraz de,
Life in the Countryside: Chopping Tobacco, 1893
Jose Ferraz de Almneida Junior is the artist of Life in the Countryside: Chopping Tobacco and The Guitar Player. While a lot of paintings being created at this time were based off of Greek mythology and historical events, I was drawn to his style in these two paintings. They portray a sense of pleasure in simplicity.
If we look at the Life in the Countryside: Chopping Tobacco, we see that the walls in the background are falling apart and the subject is not wearing shoes. This could symbolize humble surroundings. Looking closer at the subject's appearance, we see that his clothes are dirty. This could symbolize that he is a worker of some sort. A lot of times in modern society, when we depict subjects of humble circumstances it is associated with pity and sadness for their circumstances and how a little contribution could help their situation. This picture does not portray that at all. It actually depicts a look of pleasure on his face. It could possibly be because he is in the process of making a cigarette and he's anxious to smoke it, but I tend to think that he is simply taking pleasure in the few moments he has to himself.
As we look at The Guitar Player painting, we notice the same type of wall falling apart resembling humble surroundings. Their clothes also look worn or dirty from possibly working hard. However, like the painting mentioned above, the look on their faces depicts pleasure for being able to take a few minutes for themselves and enjoy the music.
It makes me wonder, how often do we actually take the time to enjoy life's simple pleasures? We live in a world where we are constantly busy and have no time for simple pleasures. If we were to look at the faces of those that are hurrying from one place to the next, we can easily see the seriousness of their faces and not the few moments of happiness we all desire. I wonder if everyone were to take a few minutes each day for a simple pleasure, if we would be living in a happier world?
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