The Pumpkin Harvest, 1897
Giovanni Segantiniexpand_more
Oil on canvasexpand_more
Gift of Curtis Galleries, Minneapolis, MNexpand_more 2006.34
Not on Viewexpand_more
"Within the lifetime of a single generation, a rustic and in large part wild landscape was transformed into the site of the world's most productive industrial machine. It would be difficult to imagine more profound contradictions of value or meaning than those made manifest by this circumstance." So writes Leo Marx in his touchstone book The Machine in the Garden (1964).
Today, a life without technology is unimaginable. But in the 19th century, the tension between the pastoral ideal and the rapid alterations of the landscape wrought by the Industrial Revolution were a central concern. Segantini expresses the anxiety felt by the unsettling effects of the machine's sudden entrance into the landscape. The hot steam from a thundering locomotive sweeps over his pumpkin field forcing the workers to turn away. The artist portrays the train's dark silhouette as an intrusion on what would otherwise be a tranquil rural scene.
Details
- Title
- The Pumpkin Harvest
- Artist Life
- 1858 - 1899
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2006.34
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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