Albayde 1848

Alexandre Cabanel painted this oil on canvas, Albayde, sometime in the 19th century. The illusionistic skill on display is remarkable. Cabanel clearly wants to wow us with his ability to render textures: the soft yielding flesh of the sitter, the silken sheen of her gown, the patterned textile of the divan. But it's crucial to remember that these virtuosic effects are the result of labor, and a very specific social context. Oil painting at this time had become a highly developed technique, taught in academies. It was a means of making images repeatable and widely available through mechanical reproduction, solidifying class structures. Consider, too, the Orientalist fantasy at play here, which would have appealed to the buying power of Cabanel's upwardly mobile clientele. When we look closely at the making of this picture, we can see its relationship to labor, politics, and consumption. This brings a new dimension to our understanding of the artwork, beyond the sitter's demure expression and the beauty of her surroundings.