Moonlit Landscape with Tall Trees 1900

Editor: This is Roderic O'Conor’s "Moonlit Landscape with Tall Trees," painted around 1900 using oil paints. There's such a captivating mood about it. What grabs my attention is how O'Conor captures the scene, seemingly en plein air. What do you see in it? Curator: For me, the value of this work is best appreciated through considering materiality and process. Look at the thickness of the paint, a tangible record of the artist's actions. What does it suggest about O'Conor's working method and how does the impasto relate to impressionistic techniques in the scene? Editor: It's thick! I didn’t initially think about how the layers themselves contributed, more like I took them for granted. Now that you mention it, that's why you get those vibrant areas of light bouncing off of the surface, right? I wonder if he had any formal training in traditional landscape? Curator: I would suggest his 'formal training' becomes somewhat irrelevant if we are discussing this work as a prime example of 'plein air' process: the physicality of O'Conor battling the conditions, racing against time and light, perhaps with low-grade materials that were not necessarily fit for purpose – which explains his impasto application. So considering the painting as the result of all that – how do you now regard his choices in that light? Editor: Wow, that definitely casts the whole piece in a new perspective! I hadn't really considered the kind of "labour" involved in creating such a work; thinking about what types of paints he chose based on the environment instead of just his technique. Curator: Exactly! The raw materiality combined with the social context of 'working conditions' elevates this landscape beyond simple aesthetics and we can better interpret the painting, overall. Editor: Thanks! That totally changed my interpretation. Considering process and materiality, it’s like looking at it with new eyes. Curator: Absolutely. Shifting our perspective enriches our experience.