The Pond at Montfoucault 1874

Camille Pissarro made ‘The Pond at Montfoucault’ with oil on canvas, using small brushstrokes to create a sense of light and atmosphere. Oil paint allows for layers and subtle blending, which Pissarro uses to capture the reflections on the water and the texture of the foliage. Note how the materiality of the paint itself, applied in visible strokes, becomes part of the subject. We are aware of both the scene before us, and the labor involved in its depiction. Pissarro's technique is closely tied to the rapid changes in 19th-century industrial production, which made premixed paints widely available. This allowed artists to work outdoors, capturing fleeting moments with unprecedented ease. While seemingly far removed from the factory floor, paintings like this were in fact enabled by it. So next time you look at an Impressionist landscape, remember that its apparent spontaneity is deeply connected to the technologies of its time. The making of art, like any other kind of making, is inseparable from its context.