Still Life - French Novels and Rose 1888

Curator: Well, let's start with the socio-economic context. Van Gogh was not painting in a vacuum. Editor: Here we have Van Gogh’s “Still Life – French Novels and Rose,” painted in 1888. It's an oil painting depicting a pile of books and a single rose in a glass. The texture looks quite rough. What do you see in this piece? Curator: We see oil paint transformed from mere pigment into a palpable expression of Van Gogh’s process. The books aren't just books. Consider them objects manufactured through specific economic systems. Each represents a tangible commodity in a publishing industry rapidly changing at the time. Editor: That's an interesting take, beyond just the books themselves. Curator: Precisely. The rose is mass produced and marketed widely. Is Van Gogh critiquing industrial capitalism here, through the depiction of accessible luxury goods and what does it mean in contrast to traditional genre paintings for the elite? Think of the impasto! It elevates the tactile, the material substance of paint. What are the implications of that decision for the history of artistic labor? Editor: So you're suggesting the rough application of paint itself becomes a commentary on the process of creation? Curator: Yes. The texture itself speaks. The books and flower might be symbolic, but I'm more interested in how Van Gogh's material choices are reflective of, or even resistant to, broader industrial and cultural forces at play. What processes make a painting 'art', and a book merely a functional commodity? Editor: I never thought about Van Gogh this way! So, seeing art as deeply intertwined with the social and material conditions of its time? Curator: Exactly. Editor: I’ll remember to consider the process and material culture of other paintings too. Thank you.