Figure 1.-- Vautier created charming images ofv the SWiss rural peasantry. Much like Normal Rockewell, the scenes are idealized, but the clothing depictions seem very accurate. Herev we see the children in their small one-room children. We think this was a public school in a rural area. You can note in the floor the wooden shoes - possibly belonging to the barefoot boy - and a bird feather. It was common for peasants to wear wooden shoes. They were inexspensive and worked better in mud than leather shoes. They are usually associated with the Dutch, but were worn by peasant families in Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Notably the Swiss were educating both boys and girls at the primary level. .

Marc Louis Benjamin Vautier painted naturalistic portrait of the peasant farmers and their families in Switzerland and the nearby German Black Forest. We see out doors imaages of their homes and fsarms. There are also fascinsting images of domestic life iniude their homes. One good example is the "The City Cousin" on the previous page. It is a classic subject, but we can see a comparison between urban and rural clothing. Much like Normal Rockewell, the scenes are idealized, but the clothing depictions seem very accurate. Another subnject is the children in their small one-room children which we see here (figure 1). We think this was a public school in a rural area. You can note in the floor the wooden shoes - possibly belonging to the barefoot boy - and a bird feather. It was common gfor peasabnts to wear wooden shoes. They were inexpensive and worked better in mud than leather shoes. They are associated with the Dutch, but were worn by peasant families in Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Notably the Swiss were educating both boys and girls at the primary level. Switerland was a leader in public education and this included schools in rural areas. This was primarily the German influence. The Germans are the larrgest Swiss ethnic group. Germany and America were the two leaders in public education. These peasant images are charming and fascinating to look at. But the charm fails to bring out a fundamental issue illustrated here. The Germans including the Swiss Germans were very ineffiucent and unlike Britain and especially America and Canada did not moderize their agricultural sector. This would have emense consequences in the 20th century--especially in World War I and II.

Created: 9:31 PM 1/31/2020
Last updated: 9:31 PM 1/31/2020