Creek in the forest 

Grigoriy Myasoyedov, a Russian artist working in the late 19th century, painted this forest scene with oil on canvas. The application of paint is fundamental here. Observe the artist's brushstrokes, how they capture light filtering through the leaves, and reflecting off the water's surface. This wasn't simply about depicting a pretty scene. Oil paint, as a medium, allowed for a high degree of realism and detail, demanding time, skill and patience. Consider the social context, here, too. Myasoyedov and his contemporaries saw themselves as realists, and often painted scenes of rural life in Russia to represent the plight of the peasantry. While this image is free from any obvious social commentary, it represents nature as a place of solace and rest, far away from the industrializing city and its social tensions. The act of painting itself becomes a commentary on labor and value, and the way we view the world. Ultimately, the material and the making process are deeply intertwined with the artwork's cultural significance.