On the Outskirts of Paris 1887

Curator: Vincent van Gogh's "On the Outskirts of Paris," painted in 1887, gives us a peek into the city's evolving landscape. Editor: There’s a breezy openness to it, almost like a stage set, ready for something to happen. I see a lone figure, perhaps lost in thought or caught between two worlds. The vibrant use of color strikes me instantly! Curator: It is the point when city meets country, showing an interaction between industrialisation and rural settings. This kind of picture is only possible with the mass-produced paints available by then, and a transportable canvas, tools of consumption for any modern painter. Editor: Absolutely! And the visible brushstrokes! It's not trying to hide the work, it wants you to see the labor and materials, the paint itself doing the job of bringing it all alive. It seems to vibrate. I can almost feel the artist at work! Did he set this up himself, find an ideal angle of trees, person, buildings all merging as one scene? Curator: Well, you know Van Gogh's process, this canvas must've been painted *en plein air*, on site in that transitional suburb! It makes one consider who would’ve inhabited that semi-urban space? The solitary figure, dwarfed by this budding metropolis... It's an everyman in transition. Editor: So this piece tells more than just the visual story. It subtly whispers of a society being reshaped by economic expansion...a world now possible because of accessible materials available for every budding impressionist in the street. And yet the beauty, somehow. Curator: Exactly! And that is part of Van Gogh's strange, persistent magic. Even documenting societal upheaval, there is joy! It captures an essential truth about us: that even in times of radical change, there can still be beauty in everyday existence. Editor: Yes, that beauty...accessible now! Perhaps an echo for today's modern consumer too. I am changed just seeing this!