Canal Grande 

Editor: So, this is "Canal Grande" by Félix Ziem. It appears to be an oil painting, and the impasto is quite thick! There's something so energetic about the brushstrokes. What do you see when you look at this piece? Curator: What strikes me is Ziem's deliberate use of impasto. Think about it: the physical labor involved in layering such thick paint! It moves this landscape from a representational image to an object demonstrating an active making. He wasn't just painting Venice; he was *building* Venice with pigment. What kind of consumer market enabled that level of material extravagance? Editor: That's a really interesting point! I hadn't considered the extravagance of the materials. Does the application technique tell us anything about the social context of the artist or the time period? Curator: Absolutely. Consider the rise of ready-made paints in tubes. This offered Ziem a certain *portability*, fitting the 'plein-air' context listed here, but also shifted the artist's labor. Less time was spent grinding pigments and preparing materials and more was dedicated to the performative act of applying paint on site and available for sale in cosmopolitan centers. Where do you think he might have shown this, and what kind of collector might be attracted by the style? Editor: Perhaps in a commercial gallery in Paris, aimed at the rising bourgeoisie who wanted to own a piece of Venice, made by a "travelling" artist? It all points to a certain commodification of both place and artistic skill. Curator: Precisely! It encourages us to reconsider the Romanticism attributed to Ziem here, by emphasizing not the sublime experience of Venice itself, but the artist’s skill in turning it into a desirable and purchasable object. Editor: That reframes my entire understanding of the artwork. I appreciate understanding how the materials and mode of production speak to broader historical themes!