I fell in love with this painting (  Corner of  Plönlein in Rothenburg By Aleksander Gierymski)  the second when I saw the way the light brought the green building on the right alive- that was the image that brought my eye in the scene. I just new that was the building where you could hear people talking or laughing or arguing.

How could that building not be full of life? Look at the color! I loved it.

Next to pop up was the little figure in the archway- I noticed that figure before I noticed the figure next to the cow.

I thought the artist was very clever and as always I wondered how they decide what figures to tell their stories and which ones are supporting characters- in a screen writing class I took we learned about which characters drove the story. I suppose I look at paintings that way now.

And then KABOOM there was the character that made the entire scene come to life, it told you everything about the people who I think you can see in some of the windows, the people walking on the street –

it was the cowpie  in the middle of the road.

That smelly  pile made the picture real for me- there were all  these lovely colors, a nice little story going on with the people and the animals and look at that sky! It’s as calm and pretty as they come.

But what made it real? For me  it was knowing what that cowpie smelled like, the squishy sounds it made as it hit the road.

I kid you not it was the cowpie that did it. That’s what brought this entire picture together for me. It  became a visual as well as smelly experience. Perfect. It captured all of my senses.

I guess it’s true- the little things really do matter or in this case the big smelly thing that a cow left on a cobbled road and an artist painted with care into his work of art.