Vase de Fleurs c. 1938 - 1939

Editor: This is Maurice Utrillo's "Vase de Fleurs," at the Tate. It seems like an intimate study of flowers in a simple vase. What catches your eye when you look at it? Curator: I see a focus on the materiality. Notice the thick impasto, the visible labor in each stroke. Utrillo challenges the divide between "high art" and the work involved in its creation. How does the application of paint itself contribute to the work's meaning? Editor: So, it's not just about the flowers, but also about Utrillo's process and the sheer physicality of the paint? It feels more immediate now. Curator: Exactly. We consider the value Utrillo places on labor by showing the traces of production in his work. It invites us to consider not just *what* is depicted, but *how* it came to be. Editor: I’ve never considered a still life in terms of labor before. Thanks for opening my eyes to this way of thinking! Curator: Likewise. It highlights the social context of art-making and challenges our assumptions about beauty and skill.