Boulevard de la Madeleine, Sous la Neige 

Curator: Antoine Blanchard gifts us with a slice of Parisian winter in his painting "Boulevard de la Madeleine, Sous la Neige". Editor: Instantly, I'm struck by the chill. The snow softens the harsh angles of the city, but the overall impression is muted, hushed, a landscape overwhelmed. Curator: Overwhelmed, yes, but beautifully so. It's a romantic vision, isn’t it? Blanchard manages to find this delicate balance between the bustle of the city and the serene stillness of a snowy day. Note the figures scattered, almost like flurries of activity themselves, fading into the canvas's snowy expanse. Editor: The visible brushstrokes become incredibly important when reading this urban landscape, in which everything, every piece, from horse carriages, and snow covered-trees to houses, has been materialized with simple gestural marks, giving an idea of velocity to the overall urban composition. What about the horse carriages that traverse a flooded Boulevard? How much did people consume to mobilize? Curator: It reminds me of vintage postcards, little snippets of time preserved under glass. Imagine the effort involved in getting these trams working with snow! What this scene hides—the stories that played in those shops. The small conversations, the hushed giggles and romances and family gatherings under rooftops, a material warmth is found even on the coldest street Editor: Thinking on a larger scale, one could say Blanchard captured how fleeting consumer experience feels under the grasp of big business. We have evidence for all to consume here—that this Parisian life in the 19th Century had to exist, at one point or another! Curator: It does highlight the inherent beauty found amidst the mundane. A gentle reminder that beauty doesn't solely reside within grandeur, or material excess as you state, but that everyday is made magical somehow by a fresh dusting of snow or perhaps, with the brushstrokes of an artist. Editor: True enough, there's beauty even in depictions of material existence. An experience from which artists like Blanchard materialize with oil-paint, the conditions for many consumers to buy into these representations of bourgeois Parisian winter landscapes, in painting form! Let’s take some steps.