To piger og en japansk parasol på Hornbæk strand 

Editor: Here we have “Two Girls and a Japanese Parasol on Hornbæk Beach" by Paul Fischer, using oil paint, and done plein-air. The painting has this peaceful, idyllic feel, and I’m struck by the contrast between the manufactured parasol and the natural beach scene. What stands out to you? Curator: This piece allows us to consider the materiality of leisure itself. Note how the beach, typically a space defined by nature and recreation, becomes a site of performed luxury. The parasol, imported and decorative, represents the consumption and display of exotic goods accessible to a particular social class. What kind of labour do you think went into creating this scene, both within and outside the frame? Editor: That's interesting. So you're saying that the scene, although seemingly spontaneous, is actually staged, or constructed? Curator: Exactly. Think about the production of the oil paint, the weaving of the parasol fabric, even the making of the bathing costumes. These are all products of specific labour practices and economic structures. Even the ‘naturalness’ of plein-air is itself reliant on transport, access to materials and free time. Does the presence of the nude, compared with the clothed figure in the bathing suit, complicate our perception? Editor: It does raise some questions about access and freedom, perhaps who gets to inhabit this space, and on what terms. I guess the seemingly innocent beach scene has quite a complex socio-economic context. Curator: Precisely! By examining the material realities embedded within the artwork, we reveal a more nuanced and critical understanding of the society that produced it. The brushstrokes become traces of social and economic power, reflecting labour conditions in ways that encourage us to question beauty itself. Editor: Thanks, I’ll definitely be looking at landscapes in a different light now! Curator: And I think I’ll think about how gender complicates materiality!