On a hot summer day, a farm is abuzz with activity during the annual hay making season. It is threshing day, and a multitude of horses and carts are being used to move the yield to and from the thresher. In the foreground we see several of these animals being queued up, for their well earned refreshment. Two troughs, hollowed from tree trunks, have been set up near the shadoof, from which water can be easily provided for the thirsty horses. In the background we see farm labourers loading the mounds of hay into the mechanical thresher, which is powered by the black bulk of the steam engine nearby. Julius von Blaas (Austrian, 1845 - 1922) skilfully conveys the oppressive heat, in which the people and animals must work, through a number of techniques, including the sheen of sweat shimmering on the horses’ flanks, the glare which radiates from the landscape and the clear blue sky, and the slightly parched and dried look of the grass in the foreground.
[Oil on panel, 38 x 63 cm]
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