Olive trees in Spain 1878

Editor: So here we have Ferdinand Hodler’s “Olive Trees in Spain,” from 1878. Painted en plein air, mostly in greens and browns. It feels very immediate, capturing a fleeting moment in nature. What jumps out at you when you see this painting? Curator: I’m drawn to the way Hodler utilizes the oil paint, clearly engaging with a plein-air approach but also considering the implications of mass-produced materials on the very perception of landscape. Editor: Mass-produced? Could you say a bit more about that? Curator: Oil paint in tubes became widely available in the 19th century. Previously, artists painstakingly mixed their own. Hodler’s rapid brushstrokes and this sense of capturing a transient scene—were they enabled by and perhaps, responding to industrial shifts? Editor: That's fascinating, I hadn't considered that. So you're saying the accessibility of materials directly impacts the artistic style and perhaps even subject matter? Curator: Precisely. It's a kind of dance, a push and pull between the artist's vision, available labor, and the socio-economic forces at play. Consider how the depiction of the olive trees themselves represents a certain form of land use and ownership too. Editor: Hmm, like how agricultural landscapes are inherently tied to labor and economic systems... Curator: Indeed. Even the “natural” is constructed and commodified. The ready availability of paints influences Hodler's impressionistic style which, at its roots, is responding to the increased rate of material production and subsequent mass consumerism, creating its own landscape. Editor: This has completely changed how I view this painting! I’ll never see it quite the same way again, thanks. Curator: And hopefully it gives some food for thought regarding art in relation to material conditions generally!