Living on the Earth

After having spent twenty years living abroad and returning to Japan, Shimizu Toshi depicted imposing portraits of workers, particularly peasants. Here too, a mother and child resting in the shade are captured boldly. Flatland typical of northern Kanto extends in the background and a farmer is busy plowing. The scorching sun and the cool shade of the tree form a sharp contrast, but the contrast between the blue of the cloudless sky and the bright red of the earth is eye-catching, too. This painting is the same size as Resting on the Earth, which was painted in the same year, and has a similar title. From April 1931, when these two paintings were created, the artist began providing illustrations for a serial novel by Sumii Sue entitled Daichi ni hiraku (Opening on the Earth) in Yomiuri Shinbun, so the theme and titles of his paintings may have been influenced by this serial story in the newspaper.