Ernesto de la Cárcova, 1894
Sin Pan y Sin Trabajo is a seminal work of Argentine social realism and the first painting to address working-class struggles as social criticism. Created upon De la Cárcova’s return from Europe, the piece reflects a period when Argentina’s booming cattle ranching and meatpacking industries were reshaping both its economy and cultural identity. While prosperous ranchers and industrialists benefited from beef exports that fueled urban development in Buenos Aires, the influx of European immigrants into the meat industry left many laborers facing unemployment and destitution.
The painting’s dramatic composition – featuring a forlorn worker leaning amid a closed factory where armed guards confront protesting labourers, and an empty table strewn with useless tools – visually expresses the tension between modern industrial progress and exploited workers. Notably, the figure of a woman cradling her baby on the right side serves as a poignant counterpoint to the worker’s despair, symbolising the vulnerability of family life amid economic hardship. As Argentina transitioned from traditional rural life to an export-driven economy, De la Cárcova’s work captured the social disillusionment of the era, making this painting an enduring emblem of the transformative impact of the cattle boom on Argentine society.