L'Arc de Triomphe 

Antoine Blanchard captured this Parisian street scene in oil paint, employing techniques that were traditional to fine art at the time. Blanchard’s brushwork is loose and impressionistic, prioritizing atmosphere over precise detail. Oil paint, with its capacity for layering and blending, allows for a rich rendering of light and texture, simulating the atmosphere of a bustling urban environment. We can see the sheen of wet pavement and the dappled light filtering through the trees. Blanchard’s technique serves the subject, making the painting immediately legible and attractive, even from a distance. Yet the very facility with which Blanchard renders this scene can also be considered in relation to the modes of production. The painting is one of many similar views he created, suggesting a commercial interest in providing appealing images of Paris to a broad audience. The beauty of the painting should therefore be seen alongside the labor and the economic forces that enabled its creation. This challenges traditional notions of art as purely aesthetic experience, inviting us to consider the social and economic context in which it was produced.