A Street in Algiers 1880

Curator: Today, we're looking at John Singer Sargent's "A Street in Algiers," an oil painting completed in 1880. It is currently held in a private collection. Editor: Stark! Almost blinding in its whites, yet undeniably grimy underfoot. I'm struck by the tactile quality of the paint, thick in the shadows. You can almost feel the uneven stones. Curator: Sargent was working within the Impressionist style at this time. The scene is dominated by architecture. We see an enclosed alleyway. Buildings tower above and the scene is mostly rendered in shades of white, blue, and brown, Editor: And look how he builds the composition—not with line, but with the very materiality of paint, layers upon layers capturing the dazzling North African light as it bounces off plaster. It makes you think about the buildings themselves and how they would have been constructed and the impact the climate would have. Curator: Precisely! Sargent painted this during one of his travels. The choice of subject, Algiers, at a time when European powers were expanding their colonial empires, speaks to broader themes of Orientalism and cultural representation in art. How did these paintings perpetuate certain understandings about North Africa to a western audience? Editor: I'm also thinking of the labour behind preparing these materials and pigments in that time. The making of oil paints was not easy. I wonder if the accessibility and value given to "fine art" should be reevaluated and expanded, considering craftspeople also possessed this knowledge and expertise, just outside of that western cultural elite. Curator: An interesting point. It’s crucial to remember how art, like this one, is not made in a vacuum. The materials, subject matter, and even its later reception by critics are all filtered through these networks of social and economic power. Editor: Absolutely. Next time I look at something, especially an "oil painting," I'll definitely think about that more and the physical, social processes that lead to this material being consumed as art in the first place. Curator: Well, considering Sargent's background and status in the art world, "A Street in Algiers" gives us so much more to reflect upon!