Verschillende schilderijen aan een wand c. 1865 - 1900

Laurens Lodewijk Kleijn made this study of paintings on a wall, using oil paint and canvas, sometime in the 19th century. At first glance, these might seem like fairly conventional landscape and genre scenes, typical of the period. But consider the way they are presented. Kleijn hasn't made individual easel paintings. Rather, he's depicted a whole wall full of them, complete with ornate frames. This directs our attention to painting as a commercial proposition – a way to fill up domestic space with affordable luxury. The artist would have used brushes of varying sizes, and mixed paints to capture the light and texture of the paintings he’s representing. The very act of depicting this "salon style" hang is interesting. By emphasizing the sheer quantity of paintings, Kleijn draws our attention to their role as commodities. These aren't just aesthetic objects; they're products, made to be bought and sold in a burgeoning art market. So, next time you see a display like this, think about the labor, materials, and economic forces that brought it into being.