Vetheuil 1880

Claude Monet painted this image of Vetheuil using oil on canvas, a common choice for painting at the time. But notice how he's handled this material. The visible brushstrokes aren’t about careful blending, but about capturing fleeting moments of light and color. This approach reflects a shift in art history, where the craft of illusionism took a backseat to capturing immediate sensory experience. Monet's emphasis on the material quality of paint itself – its texture, its viscosity – brings painting closer to the realm of craft, where the properties of materials are celebrated rather than concealed. The way Monet applied paint, in short, was about honest expression. This ethic, also prized by the Arts and Crafts movement, valued the labor and skill involved in making. By breaking down the traditional hierarchy between fine art and craft, we can see how artists like Monet paved the way for a broader appreciation of materials, making, and context in understanding art.