Dark Matters - Henry Spencer Moore - Miners at Work

Henry Spencer Moore - Miners at Work, a photo by Miriam Ward on Flickr.

This painting was my absolute favourite of this exhibition, and is perhaps going to be the start of my discovery of Henry Moore! I have recently been reading books detailing social history from roughly the 1850's onwards including information on the workhouses and living conditions. I think its the eyes which really speak to me on this painting, and also the mixed used of watercolour and ink, and the scant use of the yellow for the tiny amounts of light. the eyes of these men, who seems to have become almost feral speak of absolute desperation, but determination to continue to work despite the appalling conditions, the alternative being the depravity of the workhouse system, which even after they were closed lived on for another generation as almost a fate worse than death. The men have not bee depicted in particularly accurate anatomical detail but the strokes and marks made depict the pain and discomfort perfectly.........