The Artist’s Model 

Giovanni Boldini made this painting, The Artist’s Model, using oil paints and brushes. It is worth thinking about what it means to call this work ‘painting’ because we tend to think that painting is an elite activity removed from the business of everyday life and labor. But, in fact, painting involves physical labor. We can see the artist’s gestures in every flick of the wrist. The quality of the painting depends on the pigments, brushes, and the canvas – products of industrial manufacturing. Oil paint transforms through the process of its application: wet becomes dry, flat becomes textured, and discrete marks coalesce into an image. Boldini’s strokes have a calligraphic quality; they’re highly expressive, with a controlled spontaneity. Painting is an act of collaboration between humans, materials, and social forces. And looking closely can help us understand its place in the world, beyond questions of mere aesthetics.