Deux Jeunes Filles À L'étoile De Mer 

Paul Émile Chabas created ‘Deux Jeunes Filles À L'étoile De Mer’ with oil paint on canvas. Chabas’s choice of oil paint is significant. Oil paint, made from pigments suspended in drying oil, gave artists unparalleled control over color and texture. Its slow drying time allowed for blending and layering, creating depth and luminosity. Look closely, and you can see how he manipulated the oil paint, blending it to create soft, idealized forms. But consider what’s not here. Chabas bypassed the gritty realities of labor and class. Instead, he offers a vision of leisure and beauty, far removed from the factories and working-class lives that defined much of his era. The act of painting itself, once a craft rooted in apprenticeship, had become a profession for the educated elite. So, while we can admire Chabas’s skill, we should also reflect on the world he chose to depict—and the one he left out.