The Labours of the Months: August

The 12 small pictures in this group show the ‘labours of the months’ – the activities that take place each month throughout the farming year. They were painted on canvas and then each glued to a wooden panel. It is possible they were made to decorate the recessed panels of a pair of doors. The paintings seem to have been planned in pairs with the figures facing each other, and they are currently displayed in two frames in groups of six.The labourer in this scene, which may represent August, is so exhausted that he has fallen asleep. He sits beside a tree, his head resting on his crossed arms, his elbows on a stone bench, his eyes shut. Perhaps he has been picking grapes or fruit.