Naples 1925

Editor: So, here we have Konstantin Gorbatov's "Naples," created in 1925 using oil paint. The impasto is so thick; you can practically feel the textures of the marketplace. What stands out to me is how he's captured the bustling atmosphere with these chunky strokes of color. What are your thoughts on this piece? Curator: I see a window into the artist's labor, literally. Look at those thick daubs of paint, the sheer physicality of the application. Gorbatov isn't just depicting Naples; he's revealing the process of *making* Naples. The materiality becomes the message. How does this physicality speak to the subject matter of a marketplace, a site of production and exchange? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn’t really thought about the "making" as part of the subject. I was more focused on the visual impression. Do you think his choice of oil paint specifically influenced the depiction of labor or marketplace exchange? Curator: Absolutely. Oil paint, as a commodity itself, processed and distributed, mirrors the market's complexities. Each brushstroke represents a decision, an act of labor by the artist transforming raw material into a representational scene ripe for consumption by the viewer. Consider also the context: Gorbatov was painting this not long after leaving Russia; Naples might have been his 'market' for re-establishing his career, so the subject mirrors his ambition. Editor: So, the very act of painting becomes a form of participation in the economic landscape he’s depicting. Curator: Precisely! The means of production is inseparable from the thing being produced – both within the painting, and in its own making and subsequent sale. Editor: That gives me a completely different perspective. I will remember this approach to understanding the production of artworks in terms of their social context and process of creation. Curator: Indeed, understanding the means through which art comes into being, its materials, labour, and the economic exchange, illuminates art beyond merely visual representation.