The Yellow Fields at Gennevilliers 1884

Gustave Caillebotte likely painted The Yellow Fields at Gennevilliers with oil on canvas in the late 19th century. Here, the material properties of paint become especially evident, from the viscous consistency that allowed Caillebotte to create this rich impasto, to the ways the colors interact, creating a tactile quality, as if you could feel the texture of the crops themselves. Looking at the composition, we see how Caillebotte has not only rendered the visual appearance of the landscape, but also the hard work that produced it. The painting can be viewed as a meditation on labor, on the connection between human activity and the earth. It invites us to consider the social and economic context in which it was made. Paying attention to materials, making and context is a good reminder that art is never created in a vacuum. It is always connected to the world around it, reflecting and shaping our understanding of society.