Soaking Hides in Riverside Tanning Vats

At dusk, tanners work beside a winding river, soaking animal hides in big wooden vats of steaming brown liquid. In front, a young man in a waistcoat lifts a dripping hide from the nearest vat, while a bearded worker leans into the next one and a woman in an apron works a hide in a third. A fourth figure tends the farthest vat among a cluster of barrels, one with a metal ladle resting on its lid. Long rows of drying hides hang from wooden rails along both banks, stretching away toward the horizon. The sky glows orange and violet behind dark pines, and the river reflects the fading light. In the foreground, mossy planks lie across the grass beside wildflowers in white, orange and purple. The round vats and barrels repeat across the bank, and the two lines of hanging hides lead the eye straight down the river.