Questions to arouse interest. What do you find most interesting about the oxen in this picture? In what direction are they going? How many oxen are hitched to a plow? How are they harnessed? Have you ever seen oxen yoked in this way? Why don’t we use oxen now? What time of the year is it? time of day? How can you tell? What seems most important in the picture? What can you see in the distance?

The story of the picture. Constant Troyon delights in showing groups of animals coming toward us. No matter where we stand, they seem to be coming to meet us. We can almost hear the heavy tread of these oxen as they plod along over the uneven ground, their great heads held by the yokes.

We see so few oxen now, it makes us wonder why they were used so much in those days, but we know men did not then have the machinery for tilling the ground and sowing and planting grain that we now have. It is true they did have horses, but oxen are stronger, slower, and more steady and patient. If the ground is rough, hilly, or full of stumps, a horse becomes restless and is not easy to guide; but the oxen may be depended upon to go on steadily, obeying the commands of the driver. Then, too, oxen were much cheaper than horses, making it possible for more people to own them.

It was with oxen that our own country was developed. They did all the hauling of logs, and the heavy work that must be done in clearing up a new, uncultivated region. They do not require harness other than the yoke by which they pull their load, and are guided by the words “Gee,” meaning turn to the right, and “Haw,” turn to the left. However, the driver in our picture would not use these words, for he is French and would speak in his own language. He guides his oxen with a goad or pole which he shakes or uses as a prod to hurry them along. They accept their fate with quiet resignation, even a sort of indifference, and are very gentle. It is unusual for them to run away, unless frightened or angry.

In spite of the fact that these oxen are all coming toward us, no two are in the same position. We are made to see them with all their characteristic curves and angles.

It must be very early in the morning, for the sun is scarcely up above the horizon, and we can see the morning mist rising from the earth. The smoking field, with its deep furrows, gives us the feeling of a gradual ascent. It is very interesting to notice the shape of the long shadows cast in front of the oxen. Half close your eyes as you look, and you will find that they form a pattern or design, and that the variety in size and shape of both the shadows and the ground space has been carefully studied.

Mr. Troyon has told us these oxen are on the way to their work. We are left to decide what that work may be. No doubt they will soon reach the field, where they will be harnessed to plows, and their day’s work will begin. In the distance we can see fields, orchards, and, at the left, another peasant starting out with his teams of oxen.

The picture gives a pleasant feeling of vast, roomy space all around us. There is a feeling of energy and action, too, for the man and his oxen are on the way to their work. Our interest is centered on the oxen first of all, then on the man and the landscape. With the sun at their backs so early in the morning, we readily determine that they are going west. At the close of day they will again travel over this same road, perhaps with even more energy, although tired, for they will be going home to be fed and to rest. They probably take their noonday meal and rest near the field where they labor.

Notice the knees of the oxen. We know at once they are walking, and as we look at them we almost find ourselves stepping to one side that they may pass.

Troyon has put into this picture the peace and contentment which come only to those whose day starts out sturdily toward the accomplishment of a share in the work of the world.

Questions to help the pupil understand the picture. How many oxen are coming toward us? How many are in the same position? How are they driven? Upon what kind of ground are they walking? What country is represented? Why did the people use oxen so much in those days? When were oxen used in our country? Why are they seldom used now? How are oxen harnessed? Where are these oxen going? What kind of work will they probably do? What makes you think it must be early in the morning? that they are climbing a low hill? In what direction are they going? How can we determine this? What can we tell by the position of their knees? Why has the artist left so much sky and land space all around them? How is one man able to control all these oxen?

The story of the artist. Constant Troyon’s father and grandfather were porcelain decorators in the little village of SÈvres, France. They lived near the porcelain factory at SÈvres, and so much of Constant Troyon’s life was spent in this factory that it is said he practically grew up within its walls.

When Troyon was only seven years old his father died, leaving his mother with two small sons to bring up. It was necessary for her to do something to support them. Living among painters and hearing so much of design, color, and decorations, she naturally thought of doing something along that line. After much experimenting she succeeded in making designs for brooches, rings, bracelets, lockets, pins, and other ornaments. These designs were unique, for they were made of birds’ feathers. They were exquisite in color and sold readily, especially to visiting foreigners, English and American. Through the success of these bird-feather designs, she was able to bring up and educate her two sons.

As soon as the boys were old enough they worked in the porcelain factory. Here Troyon received his first training in art. His great natural talent could not long content itself with merely decorating china, and soon he began to cover large canvases with his wonderful paintings from nature.

From this time on, he spent every spare moment out in the fields and woods. All the inspiration, opportunity, and joy in work which so many feel they must go so far from home to find, Troyon found here in his home town and neighboring woods. He painted the first thing he came across,—trees such as we see everywhere; paths, streams, and fields such as we pass every day; but there is a charm in his paintings which makes them very popular now as it did then. He did not need the columns, monuments, heroes, gods, or nymphs of the past. He preferred to paint truthful representations of the beauties of the present.

In personal appearance, Troyon has been described as being coarse and rather rough. Yet his cheery good nature and kind heart won him friends wherever he went. Painting, to him, was a diversion, a pleasure to be indulged in only after work at the factory was finished. Since he did not have to depend on his painting for a living, he did not need to consider either the pleasure of others in his work or the money his pictures might bring. So he painted just the things that appealed to him, regardless of public favor. Indeed, he did not care to exhibit his paintings at all and did so only to please a friend who persisted in urging him. Troyon was quite overcome by the praise his pictures received and the popularity they brought him.

Troyon remained in the porcelain factory until he was twenty-one years old, then he began to travel the country as an artist. He painted landscapes as long as he had money in his pocket, then he made friends with the nearest china manufacturer and worked steadily at his trade until he had money enough to go on.

In the factory Troyon continued working out the small detailed designs suitable for china, but in the open field he paid little attention to details, his chief interest centering in the composition as a whole. At first he had found it difficult to paint large masses, and often the general effect of his landscapes was lost in the confusing details of parts of it. But one day as he was painting near the edge of a woods, a well-known painter of that day, Camille Roqueplan, came and stood behind his easel watching him. The older artist recognized at once the talent of the young man and while praising him for the truthfulness of his sketch, gave him valuable suggestions which Troyon never forgot. Although the artist Roqueplan was eight years older than Troyon, the two became close friends. Troyon studied under Roqueplan and it was through his influence that he made his first visit to The Hague. It was after this visit that Troyon began to paint animals and from that day dates his best work. Later he visited his artist friend in Paris and at length moved to Paris himself.

In 1849 Troyon was presented with the Cross of the Legion of Honor. His pictures were very popular indeed and during his lifetime he became a very rich man.

People usually speak of him as a painter of cattle, but he painted quite as many pictures of sheep and dogs.

His early training as a designer is noticeable in this picture. He is famous for his strong colorings, variety, and effects in light and shade.

Some of his best known paintings are: “Great Oak,” “Forest Depths,” “Horse Pond,” “Valley of the Toucque” or “Heights of Suresnes.”

Questions about the artist. Who painted this picture? What was his trade? How old was he when his father died? What did his mother do to earn a living? When did Troyon learn to decorate porcelain? How did his trade help him when he began to paint pictures? Who taught him to paint and draw? Where did he go to paint? What subjects did he usually choose? Why was he so independent of popular favor? What was his success?