Boiling Train Oil at Nymindegab, Jutland 1879

Curator: Laurits Tuxen’s "Boiling Train Oil at Nymindegab, Jutland" from 1879. Just look at this scene—it pulls you right in, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely. It’s bathed in such a raw light—almost blinding. The first thing that strikes me is how elemental it is. You feel the earth under your feet and can almost smell the boiling oil. Curator: It really does encapsulate a moment, doesn’t it? I see a real blend of something… timeless with the immediacy of life right there on the canvas. Like a fleeting dream. Editor: And the texture! Look how roughly the figures are formed; that material handling! You can imagine how the landscape itself provides all that is needed. Someone's gathering something there, maybe to fuel that fire? Curator: It is intriguing! There is that direct link, isn’t there? I like the ambiguity here. Editor: Tuxen clearly isn’t romanticizing their labor, not one bit! You sense how arduous and critical that action might have been. The thick impasto practically makes the landscape and workers one. I wonder how this piece of production fitted in the context of art consumption in Denmark at the time it was made. Curator: What is the role, eh? Tuxen invites us to witness a scene unfolding...but at the same time we, and these women, are removed from the landscape; and here we are just watching… like peering into someone else’s memory. Editor: Exactly, a painting rooted in process—not just artistic, but the very process of making a living! Think about the materials too. We need wood, hands, vessels; a great many tools in the right place for that oil to boil. And for that labour to have material implication. It is impressive! Curator: It certainly is; it lingers with you after you walk away, wouldn’t you agree? I will come back! Editor: For sure, I'll certainly come back! A good day to you.