Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle, Paris 

Curator: Ah, here we are, in front of Édouard Cortès’s “Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle, Paris.” It just pulls you right into the Parisian atmosphere. Editor: It does, doesn't it? The light reflecting off the wet cobblestones...it's all smoke and mirrors. Honestly, it feels a bit stagey, like looking at a backdrop for an operetta rather than actual Paris. I find myself immediately thinking about the layers of production involved, both in the scene itself, and how it was fabricated in paint. Curator: I see what you mean about the stagey quality. But I also feel a certain melancholic poetry. All that hustle and bustle, caught in this misty amber glow…It’s like he’s not just painting a street, he’s painting a fleeting feeling, like the memory of a lost afternoon. Editor: Well, let’s not get too lost in feeling! This painting IS a constructed commodity. These cityscapes by Cortès, they were extremely popular. He knew what sold. So while there's a beauty in those reflections you talk about, they’re deliberately rendering a specific image of Paris for consumption. The bourgeois enjoying themselves in a particular weather condition… It flattens into decor pretty quickly, doesn't it? Curator: Perhaps, but look at the individual brushstrokes. The way he captures the fleeting movements of the pedestrians, the sparkle of the streetlights in the rain, it’s more than just churning out pretty pictures for the market. There's love there. A palpable fondness. And the materials, oil paints worked *en plein air*, right on location...that’s important, isn't it? Editor: Absolutely, the materiality is key! You can really see that, especially in the thick impasto of the light reflecting off the puddles. But painting outdoors, "capturing the moment"... It obscures the less romantic realities of how these urban spaces are fabricated. The uneven distribution of wealth, labor conditions for the working class. These are stories also circulating in that pictorial space. Curator: But surely art can capture a feeling, a sense of place, without having to explicitly address all of society's ills? It's okay for something to be simply beautiful. It allows for contemplation, a different kind of engagement with the world. For me, this painting makes me want to wrap up in a cozy coat, find a café, and simply watch the world go by, as Cortès did. Editor: Maybe that cozy coat was made in a sweatshop? I mean, Cortès creates this world of leisure, and to maintain his fantasy we might do well to acknowledge how the gears grind for others to shop along that street and sustain a life they enjoy on those cobblestones! Curator: I can see how important that context is to you. Ultimately, this work resonates differently depending on what lenses one chooses to examine it with. I will have to check where the paint for the cozy coat came from, that’s for sure! Editor: Agreed. I’ve gained a much better understanding of where your perspective comes from. Cheers.