Johann Baptist Kirner
„Haberfeldtreiben“ (Bavarian practice of mob law, reprimanding acts of unchastity), 1854
About the object
With a clenched fist, a farmer threatens sheaves of hay standing by the roadside, which resemble human figures. In this painting Haberfeldtreiben (=Bavarian practice of mob law, reprimanding acts of unchastity), Kirner is referencing the Bavarian custom of the same name, in which moral offence was denounced and the delinquent exposed. Does the angry peasant feel caught in the act?