OAK, ST. DOULOUGH'S, DUBLIN 

Nathaniel Hone the Younger made this oil painting, titled *Oak, St. Doulough's, Dublin*, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Looking closely, you'll see the gestural strokes, and the layering of thin paint – *alla prima*, or wet-on-wet – which speaks to its creation outdoors, directly from life. The materiality of this piece, its very 'thingness', is important. The handling of the paint has a directness and an immediacy, an unpretentious character that resists the slickness of academic painting. There is a clear relationship to the rise of capitalism, and how this has shaped cultural life and visual representation. The painting shows us the effects of industrialization and urbanization and the rise of the middle class, which enabled artists to portray more intimate and domestic scenes. This is a move away from grand, historical narratives, or portraiture of the elite. The real subject here is the activity of painting itself, and the working processes behind it. By valuing the handmade quality of the work, we can challenge traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.