Dépôt de pavés à Montmartre [Paysage à la charrette] 1889

Maximilien Luce painted this evocative scene of Montmartre using oil on canvas. Luce was known for his pointillist technique, but here, his brushstrokes are looser, capturing the gritty reality of labor. The painting depicts a depot of cobblestones, materials of everyday life, piled up alongside a wooden cart. These stones aren't just inert matter; they speak to the unseen labor required to quarry, shape, and transport them. The inherent qualities of stone—its weight, texture, and the dust it produces—become palpable through Luce's rendering. The scene highlights the essential role of manual work in shaping the urban environment, and the social realities of early 20th-century Paris, showing the contrast between the romantic vision of Montmartre and the labor that supported its development. Luce doesn't just present a landscape, he reveals the human effort embedded within it, urging us to consider the politics of labor and production in our understanding of art.