At the Well

Gerhard Munthe's At the Well (1886) depicts a traditional Norwegian rural scene — women or figures drawing water at a village well — treated with the Norwegian Naturalist attention to daily rural life that characterized the progressive painters of his generation. Munthe was among the Norwegian painters who combined careful naturalistic observation with an emerging national romantic sensibility; his rural scenes documented the traditional Norwegian landscape and way of life while beginning to incorporate the decorative qualities that would lead to his later National Romantic style.

The well scene requires Munthe to handle figures in an outdoor setting at a specific task — the physical attitudes of drawing water, the specific visual character of a traditional wooden well in a Norwegian village setting. His palette is cool and naturalistic for the Norwegian outdoor environment — the grey-greens of Norwegian summer foliage, the warm wood tones of the well structure, the figures' traditional dress. The handling shows the careful observation of the Norwegian Naturalist tradition.