Bris, Jæren 1892

Editor: Here we have Amaldus Nielsen's "Bris, Jæren," painted in 1892 using oil paints. It feels very much like being there on that shore – I can almost smell the salt air. What do you make of this landscape, particularly in terms of its materials? Curator: Well, it's crucial to consider that this wasn't just about capturing a pretty scene. Nielsen, working *en plein air*, was directly engaging with the materiality of the landscape. The paint itself – its texture and application – becomes a document of that process. We need to think about where he obtained his pigments, and what type of canvas was produced at this time in the Jæren area, the coast of Norway. Editor: That’s interesting! I hadn’t thought about the economic side of paint production in that specific region and time. How might the increasing availability of pre-mixed paints have affected his approach, though? Did it democratize art-making or standardize it? Curator: Both, in a way. The commercialization of paint meant wider access but also introduced a certain uniformity. Consider how this impacts our understanding of Nielsen's "authenticity," if the same batch of paint tubes was sold throughout Europe, ready for any travelling artist like himself to just pull out. I would look at the physical traces in his brushstrokes - and compare these to other artists who he likely exchanged paint with to study these dynamics, to assess his specific material contribution within his local scene. Editor: So, examining the physical components gives us a whole new way to look at the artwork's meaning! Curator: Precisely. We’re no longer limited to just the aesthetic experience; we delve into the world of labour, industry, and the social conditions of artistic production. What we now consider to be art supplies used to be something arduously extracted from nature or mixed for hours! It changes one's appreciation for the final outcome. Editor: I'll definitely keep an eye on the texture and material origins moving forward. It adds a much more meaningful depth!