Artchallenge #13 entry: The Rice Gleaners

This week's ArtChallenge is to interpret this painting by Pavel Kuchinski.

Here's my interpretation

The Rice Gleaners

I think this painting alludes to Jean-Francois Millet’s painting "The Gleaners" (1857) which has been referenced by artists such as Banksy, Van Gogh and others. The earthy colours used in the painting also show the source of inspiration. Weddings are meant to be happy and usually the colours would be brighter so I think it highlights the gap between the poor and the rich in an interesting way.

The people celebrating the wedding are throwing rice for good luck (or wishing fertility for the newlyweds) while the gleaners are picking up the rice grains. There is great thought put into the details since the gleaners wear the triangular hats commonly seen in Asia among people working in the rice fields. In Chinese we call these hats Douli 斗笠 and they are usually made of bamboo. The painting not only comments on the gap between the haves and have nots it also points to cultural differences between the East and the West. I see the painting as a call for people not to waste and to think of the less fortunate while you celebrate joyful occasions such as weddings.

As always, thanks to @aksinya for this wonderful challenge. I always learn a lot from the weekly paintings.

Thanks for reading!

@snooway