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Worn Out Cast in light and framed by the sloping ceiling of the room, two sleeping figures dominate the central focus of this interior composition. In the foreground, and placed on a strong diagonal, a bearded man sleeps on a chair. His clothing, painted in vivid colors, is wrinkled and worn. His leather vest is frayed along the edges and lies open revealing loosely tied pants. His shoes are well worn and have holes at the toes. A half eaten bowl of porridge lies on the floor underneath the man’s chair. Next to it, a mouse nibbles on a scrap of food. Immediately behind him, sleeping on a wooden bed, a small child lies under a pile of patterned blankets. With the sleeve hanging down, the man’s dark, worn jacket becomes the top cover. The child’s hand grips the man’s green shirt, and has a peaceful look on his face. To the left of the bed, a closed door has a rug placed at the bottom opening. A green towel hangs on a peg next to it. A folded table sits next to the bed holding a candle that is almost finished burning. Several cloths hang from a simple line stretched underneath the ceiling. On the back wall, a small hearth reinforces the visual center of the room. A teapot, tray and bowl rest on the mantle. To the right, an open window casts light into the interior. A small vase with several green stems rests on the window ledge. Next to the window, a violin hangs on the wall. Resting on the floor immediately underneath, a saw and carpenters bag flank a tall dark vase. The color green becomes a unifying element in this composition. Following the diagonal line of the man’s shirt to the towel, hanging cloth and green stems on the window, the eye continuously stays focused on the sleeping child. Background The struggle of paternal love and care is the emphasis of this composition. A workingman, living in meager conditions, sleeps at the bedside of his sick child. Tired from work (indicated by his tools on the floor) and a sleepless night (indicated by the flickering candle), his main concern has been for his child’s well being. The visual details tell the level of concern; his hand on the bed for a physical connection to the child, his heavy jacket adding to the warmth of the blankets, the rug near the door to block the drafts. Emblems of poverty are also displayed: wrinkled and torn clothing, threadbare bed linens and rug, little furniture in an unrefined room. In spite of the poverty, the hearth – an indication of domesticity – is centrally placed and the initial point of linear perspective. This is a home, as observed by Faed, of a working class family that shared the same domestic values as the rest of society. This, broadly put, is the condition of the mass of the working classes, and to its material hardships is added a sense of injustice suffered, which rankles all the deeper from being blind and impotent. They are certainly born into trouble. To labour with but scant reward, to endure with but little prospect of relief, is their lot from cradle to grave, and, to crown all, they are but too often told that their evil fate will go with them beyond the grave. The labourer who earns eighteen pence a day and lives with some degree of comfort as a single man, will hesitate a little before he divides that pittance among four or five, which seems to be just sufficient for one. Harder fare and harder labour he would submit to for the sake of living with the woman that he loves, but he must feel conscious, if he thinks at all, that should he have a large family, and any ill luck whatsoever, no degree of frugality, no possible exertion of his manual strength could preserve him from the heart rending sensation of seeing his children starve, or of forfeiting his independence, and being obliged to the parish for their support.
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