The Fjord, near Christiania 1893

Editor: So here we have Monet’s “The Fjord, near Christiania,” painted in 1893. It's an oil painting, and the light on the water is just mesmerizing. It's so peaceful, almost… frigid? What are your thoughts when you look at this painting? Curator: Well, when I see a landscape like this, I think about labor and industry, surprisingly. Consider the production of oil paint itself in 1893 – the mining of pigments, the refinement of linseed oil, the factory labor involved in mass production. And Monet, working en plein air, was directly engaged with those materials and the rapidly changing environment around Christiania, now Oslo. Editor: So, it's not just a pretty picture? Curator: Absolutely not. The "pretty picture" is the end result of a complex process involving resources, labor, and distribution. Also, notice how the fleeting moment of light and atmosphere is captured. Think about how the rise of industrial capitalism impacted leisure, enabling more artists, and patrons, to have the time and resources to enjoy scenes like this Fjord. Is it really nature, or is it a manufactured escape? Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn't thought about the paint itself as part of the story. Does the location, Norway, impact your understanding of the work and the means of production? Curator: Definitely. Norway was becoming increasingly integrated into the global economy at the time. The extraction of resources, like timber, for shipbuilding and industry in other parts of Europe had significant local impact, challenging any simple understanding of the work as pure ‘landscape’. Editor: I never considered how intertwined art and industry are. I'll definitely look at paintings differently from now on. Curator: Indeed. Thinking about materials, labor, and context helps us move beyond just the aesthetic surface.