![Laurits Andersen Ring - The Lime Man, the Old House is Refurbished [1908]](http://c1.staticflickr.com/1/360/18224640338_59510922fc_o.jpg)
Laurits Andersen Ring (Ring, August 15, 1854 - Skt. Jørgensbjerg, September 10, 1933) was one of the foremost Danish painters of the turn of the 20th century, who pioneered both symbolism and social realism in Denmark. As a painter, Ring never distanced himself from his humble origin, but rather made it his dominant theme, depicting the reality of rural life. This is visible for example in his painting Gleaners (Axsamlere, 1887) showing how the rural poor would pick up the grain left behindby the increasingly industrial methods of harvesting, a motif first made famous by Millet. Most of his paintings depict the village life and landscapes of southern Zealand.
[National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen - Oil on canvas, 122 x 96 cm]