Lake 

Editor: Here we have "Lake," an oil painting by Isaac Levitan. It looks like it was done en plein-air, capturing a vast open sky over a still lake. What strikes me is the painterly quality; you can really see the brushstrokes. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see the legacy of labor embedded within those brushstrokes. "Lake" exemplifies the increasing availability and industrial production of oil paints during Levitan’s time. Consider the shift from artists grinding their own pigments to purchasing them ready-made. This impacted not only artistic labor, liberating the artist from the tedious, time-consuming aspects of art creation, but also expanded the possibilities for artists to explore impressionistic techniques through mass production. Editor: That's fascinating, I hadn't considered the impact of paint production itself. So, are you suggesting the availability of pre-mixed paint influenced the move towards "en plein air" painting? Curator: Precisely! Think about it: pre-mixed paints in tubes were more portable. The availability and use of those materials had a dramatic shift in the art-making practices. Landscape painting moved from the studio into nature, radically changing both its production, its accessibility, and our appreciation for the value of time. How else do you read the relationship to value here? Editor: I see what you mean! The painting celebrates leisure, a direct result of industrialized production, now applied even to artmaking. It encourages the viewers to slow down, notice how light interacts with the surface of the water and the cloud formations. It makes you appreciate something beautiful created through the accessibility of modern materials. Curator: Exactly. It's a fascinating commentary when you consider how industrial production ultimately informs this romantic depiction of nature. Thanks for walking through this painting with me. Editor: Thank you, I’ve definitely gained a new perspective on it!