A Soul Taken away by an Angel 1853

Jean-Léon Gérôme painted "A Soul Taken away by an Angel" using oil on canvas. At first glance, it's easy to get lost in the sentimentality of this scene, but consider what goes into creating such a smooth, polished surface. Oil paint, traditionally made by grinding pigment into linseed oil, allows for subtle gradations of tone. Layer upon layer, Gérôme built up this image, using his mastery of the medium to convey soft skin, billowing fabric, and ethereal wings. Think about the skilled labor involved, from preparing the canvas to mixing the paints. These methods link the piece to a much larger workshop tradition. While Gérôme was celebrated as an individual artistic genius, he was also deeply embedded in a system of production, a system of labor and skill that extends far beyond the finished canvas. By attending to the materiality of the artwork, we can see the connections between aesthetic experience and social context.