A View of the Tomb of the Caliphs with the Pyramids of Giza Beyond, Cairo 

Hermann Corrodi painted this view of Cairo on canvas, using oil paints. This wasn't a radical choice of material, of course. Corrodi was part of a long tradition of European landscape painters, but his selection of subject matter is significant. By painting the Middle East, he joined a well-worn path of artists who made their careers through what we might call "Orientalism." They exoticized other cultures for consumption by Europeans, a practice tied to wider social issues of colonialism and cultural appropriation. Although the pyramids and tombs are painted with Corrodi's masterful skill, the amount of labor involved in producing this painting does not compare to the amount of labor needed to build the pyramids. Paying attention to materials, making, and context helps us fully understand an artwork, and challenges the idea that fine art is somehow separate from craft.