Moses and the Burning Bush 1641

Editor: Here we have Nicolas Poussin's "Moses and the Burning Bush," painted in 1641. It's an oil on canvas. The way Moses is recoiling really grabs me; what details stand out to you in this piece? Curator: For me, it's about understanding the materiality of the painting itself and how that intersects with the social context. Look at the canvas—how was it sourced, prepared? Oil paint, pigments— where did those materials come from? Knowing that Europe relied on exploited labor and resource extraction to obtain luxury materials like high quality pigments opens a completely new dimension of this history painting. Editor: So, thinking about where the materials come from shifts the whole story? Curator: Exactly. This isn't just a religious scene; it's a product of colonial trade networks and power dynamics. The artist is a manufacturer as much as he is a visionary, making use of available labor. Editor: That’s not something I'd considered before. Does this perspective change how we view Poussin’s artistic choices? Curator: Absolutely. We start to see that artistic expression is embedded within material constraints and global inequalities. Were cheaper materials available? What determined which materials would be utilized, who had the authority to select and obtain materials? How were the labourers involved impacted in the supply chain? It encourages us to see the scene, and its production, in relationship to human endeavor, a history, labour, trade. Editor: It's a different perspective from the typical art history lecture. It gives me a deeper, uncomfortable but insightful look at the painting. Curator: Indeed. This work now appears to reveal the conditions that allowed for this artwork to manifest, and not just a presentation of religious story.