La Rue Saint-Séverin, actuel 5ème arrondissement. 1877

Johan Barthold Jongkind painted this evocative street scene, titled "La Rue Saint-Séverin," using oil on canvas. Jongkind skillfully handles the fluidity of oil paints, capturing the damp atmosphere and the spectral glow of gaslights in a pre-modern Paris. The material qualities of oil paint have influenced its appearance, enabling Jongkind to create varying textures. Look closely, and you’ll see his thick application of paint conjures a hazy luminescence, contrasting with areas where thinner washes create the impression of deep shadows. The way the paint is applied gives a real sense of the fleeting moment, but also of the labor involved in translating the scene onto canvas. Jongkind’s approach underscores the importance of materiality and process in understanding the artwork's full meaning, and challenges traditional distinctions between art and craft.