Chatting and drinking
Ca. 1878. Oil on canvas.On display elsewhere
As the years went by, the public was less and less interested in Costumbrismo, an art style which focused on custom and manners. Instead, people became increasingly interested by a closer and more sincere representation of the reality of a country, its people and their customs. Benlliure´s depiction is a good example of this. In this painting, four elderly peasants dressed in traditional costume are captured in a farmstead, chatting quietly around a jug of wine. The subjects are faithfully characterised, the accumulated experience and effort of a long, sacrificial, lives devoted to farm work, reflected in their features and the serenity of their attitudes. Details such as a pair of chickens pecking in the foreground, and household items including a pair of jugs and a cupboard with gourds, provide narrative touches, without diverting the attention from the main subjects. Through works such this one, Benlliure manages to convey the true essence of the Valencian agricultural region, known as ‘huerta de Valencia’, without decorative stridency or formal concessions. With their effort and dedication, these men managed to master and shape a landscape with which a nation can identify itself.
This work is also known as Peasants in an Interior. Farm workers.
José Benlliure Gil (1855-1937). Catálogo de la exposición celebrada en Alicante, Museo de Belles Arts (Gravina), Valencia, Generalitat Vanlenciana, 2009, p.27
