The Bay of Algiers 1881

Curator: Oh, what a beautiful shimmer! Looking at "The Bay of Algiers" by Renoir, completed in 1881, I immediately get a feeling of summer freedom, almost as if the air is humming with sunlight, don't you think? Editor: The overwhelming feeling is a kind of political ambivalence to me. We have Renoir dabbling in Orientalism here, capturing the exotic other, you know? Algeria was very much under French colonial control at the time, and this carefree depiction sort of glosses over that reality. Curator: Hmmm, it's hard for me to go immediately to politics while soaking up this light! The thick daubs of oil paint, those feathery strokes building the clouds… it's less about precise representation, and more about feeling the day, the light. He really manages to put a viewer into the location; you almost feel like you're feeling a breeze of the Mediterranean. Editor: Agreed. But the carefree impressionistic style only reinforces the idea that Renoir, and by extension, his intended audience, were viewing Algeria through a lens of privilege. How else do you explain painting this landscape without any visible sign of colonial impact or local experience of a subjugated group? Curator: True, but isn't there beauty in that blinkered view as well? It isn't about denying the truth. Instead, Renoir lets himself drift in a space between a beautiful daydream and stark political landscape. The colors create so much visual rhythm! It is what draws me in, the clouds practically dance above the Bay! Editor: Maybe the politics are silent, working through what’s *not* shown. The visual absence, if you will, speaking to the unbalanced power dynamics of that period. Though, undeniably, as a document of French orientalism it is a very fascinating lens into 19th-century French imagination, and their engagement with an area that the army invaded in 1830. Curator: I appreciate the reminder of the historical lens as well. The next time I gaze upon this painting, I think I will feel like I’m experiencing the dreamlike beauty of escape that sits in contrast with historical reflection. Editor: Indeed. It reminds us that art is very much woven with not just brushstrokes and paints, but complex politics too.