Les Maisons Cabassud À Ville D’avray c. 1840 - 1845

Editor: Here we have Camille Corot’s "Les Maisons Cabassud à Ville D’Avray," painted with oils en plein-air circa 1840-1845. It’s a lovely scene – the buildings reflecting in the water are quite striking. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: The material reality of this painting is fascinating. Look at how Corot employed the oil paint, likely directly from tubes available at the time, a relatively new development. This enabled the practice of plein-air painting, revolutionizing the traditional studio-bound landscape genre and the labor practices tied to it. Consider too, where were these paints produced, and how did that industrial production impact his access to these new materials? Editor: That’s an interesting way to look at it – I hadn't considered the industrial context. Curator: Precisely! And what about the support? Linen canvas became increasingly standardized. What kind of relationship do you imagine that the painter might have had with suppliers? Were they made locally? Imported? Were these paints available for everyone or limited for an exclusive part of the population? Editor: That is compelling; it speaks volumes about the changing artistic production model. Curator: Absolutely. And how might the rise of mass production techniques have impacted Corot’s desire to capture ephemeral moments in nature? Do you feel a connection with the way artists negotiate their roles within larger systems of labor and material consumption? Editor: It gives the painting another layer of depth; I will not see these landscapes the same again. Curator: It is exciting how materials and labor practices illuminate the circumstances around making art!