Edward Alfred Cucuel 2017

Editor: This painting is called "Edward Alfred Cucuel," made in 2017 with oil paint. It has a dream-like quality to it. The artist is portraying two individuals, but then also there's a painting within the painting. I wonder what's going on in this scene? How do you interpret this work? Curator: I see a conscious engagement with the means of production and the performance of artistic labor. It's crucial that it is an oil painting. Oil allowed for complex layering that alludes to class. This genre scene complicates the hierarchies typically imposed on art, blurring the boundaries between studio labor, leisure, and the artistic commodity on the wall. Editor: You see a breakdown of artistic hierarchies, which makes sense looking at the subjects’ garments compared to their surroundings, but what do you mean by leisure versus commodity? Curator: We see the model with the fruits, wine, flowers, as the performance of upper-class relaxation. It’s rendered in thick strokes that indicate speed and a lack of detail, particularly in contrast to the second painting within the piece that hangs behind them. Consider the role of the female nude and its place in paintings of the upper classes compared to what the model might be earning for her time, posing for the piece, or perhaps serving in a different role. Editor: That’s a compelling breakdown. Considering that the paintings’ materials represent social status helps connect Intimism with materialism, as well. I will remember this method during my next visit to a museum. Curator: It's about looking past the immediate subject matter to consider what the materials themselves tell us. Remember, the art object exists within a network of social and economic relationships.