Still Life With Bottles 1863

Claude Monet, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, captured this “Still Life with Bottles” in oil paint, a medium defined by its viscous blendability. Here, Monet uses the materiality of oil to wonderful effect, its slow drying time permitting the soft gradations of light and shadow we see across the bottles, bread, and folded cloth. Look at the way the brushstrokes are visible, particularly in the background, creating a palpable sense of texture. The translucence of the glass is subtly conveyed, not through precise rendering, but through layers of thin paint, or glazes. Consider the socioeconomic context of this work. Oil paints, while more accessible than in previous eras, were still a manufactured product, connecting artistic creation to industrial production. The very act of painting, with its reliance on commercially produced materials, ties even the most serene still life to broader networks of labor, commerce, and consumption.