Saint Mammes, Ducks on Canal 1885

Alfred Sisley made this painting of Saint Mammes, Ducks on Canal with oil paints, likely on a commercially primed canvas. Sisley's impressionistic style draws attention to the materiality of paint itself. The way the pigment sits on the canvas, thick and textured, evokes a sense of immediacy, of capturing a fleeting moment in time. The short, broken brushstrokes don't just depict the scene, they embody the act of painting itself. Consider the labor involved in the production of these materials: the mining of pigments, the refining of oils, the weaving of canvas. These are all products of industrial processes and global trade networks, yet they are used here to depict a tranquil scene of nature. By focusing on the material qualities of the paint, Sisley acknowledges this connection to the world of labor and commerce, even as he celebrates the beauty of the natural world. Paying attention to the material and context of Sisley's painting allows us to see it not just as a representation of a scene, but as an object with its own history and significance.