Palm Trees at Bordighera 1884

Claude Monet made this painting of palm trees in Bordighera using oil paints, a material intimately linked to the history of European art. But consider for a moment, that oil paint is, actually, an industrial material. Pigments are suspended in linseed oil, which is itself extracted using heavy machinery. The paint is then applied to a canvas stretched over a wood frame, all of which are products of industrial manufacturing and global trade. With that in mind, look again at the painting itself. Monet's process, applying paint in short, energetic strokes, mimics the quickened pace of modern life. His broken brushwork also evokes the fleeting, insubstantial nature of modern experience, turning a scene of leisure into a meditation on the changing conditions of labor and leisure in the late 19th century. When we view art through the lens of materials and making, even a seemingly straightforward landscape reveals deeper connections to the social and economic forces shaping the world around it.