Veranda entwined with grapes 1828

Curator: Here we have Sylvester Shchedrin's "Veranda entwined with grapes," painted in 1828. It’s an oil painting that invites us into a scene in Italy. Editor: It’s quite lovely! The light immediately draws me in, filtering through the grapevines. It’s all very tactile; I can almost feel the cool stone and taste the grapes. Curator: Indeed! And note how Shchedrin uses that light not merely for aesthetic purposes but to represent leisure. He places ordinary people at rest and this is very much a picture of Italian social life. I always look at it as Shchedrin’s reflection of the emerging class dynamics. It’s almost political when you remember the strict artistic academies in Europe at the time. Editor: Interesting take! Looking at it from the materials aspect, consider the accessibility. Oil paint would’ve been easier to get than perhaps fresco at the time. To use oil paints as his mode, I’d suggest it opens up new avenues for thinking about Romantic artmaking. Also, note the landscape that features people working but taking rest... how are their physical demands made manifest on the canvas? Curator: Good point. The painting sits comfortably within the genre-painting category but I encourage a look at the influence of Romanticism too. Think about its relationship to Italian Renaissance art! Its light and its landscape and also those individuals and how we view humanity more broadly at that historical moment! Shchedrin creates a new understanding. Editor: He also gives value to the labour and labouring classes… there are lots of implications when it comes to understanding materials and how the scene plays out within broader social context. Curator: Definitely, seeing how these aspects work within the Romantic movement highlights a shift in cultural values. Editor: Yes, that’s important context to take away from this work. Curator: Food for thought! Editor: Absolutely.