A Hot Day, Capri 1926

Curator: So, we have here Gorbatov’s "A Hot Day, Capri," painted in 1926. It’s an oil painting, an impressionistic cityscape, and I’d like your first thoughts on it. Editor: It's so bright and airy. The buildings almost seem to glow. What really catches my eye is the contrast between the textured surfaces and the clear light of the day, the weight of work and relaxation, that one worker with the donkey and then people resting nearby... what should I be looking for here? Curator: Look closer at those surfaces, think about what’s been applied, and how. Consider Gorbatov's technique – the brushstrokes, the layering of paint. What does this tell us about his process? Also, think about what daily life may have looked like in Capri for its inhabitants; the use of light, is it inviting or does it hint at harsh realities? It suggests something of the relationship between labor, leisure, and location. How might those garments hung to dry be connected with industry? Editor: I didn't think about the garments that way, more of an afterthought but you're right, those are not an afterthought. The paint seems applied very quickly, en plein air as it were; I see what seems to be thick impasto suggesting a real engagement with representing the local atmosphere through tangible material processes. How do you read Gorbatov’s presentation here of the ordinary activities of labor like tending to a donkey, taking place amid architectural grandeur? Curator: Precisely! It positions the scene as a space of work and a space of living. In its time and even now there are always clashes between locals living on the island and tourists looking for the island experience. Gorbatov is interested in the tension and interweaving of economic and artistic labor. Editor: So the brushstrokes themselves aren’t just capturing light, but demonstrating the artist's physical labor to create an artwork, that he chose to include figures to create an image not just of paradise but an image that includes labor, and its presence or absence of it? Fascinating! I’ll certainly be thinking about labor a lot more when I look at impressionist paintings now! Curator: Good! Remember, even seemingly effortless artworks result from skill, choices, materials and, of course, effort.