Street Scene (Venice?) c. 1907

John Marin made this watercolor, “Street Scene (Venice?)”, and it feels like he was trying to capture a fleeting moment, a vibration in the air. The colors are so light, like a memory. The way he layers the washes, one over another, it’s almost like he's building up the image from nothing. There's a beautiful looseness in his touch, especially in the details of the figures. They're just suggested, not fully formed, which gives the whole scene a sense of movement and energy. Look at the way he uses the paper itself as part of the image. The rough texture and the off-white tone peek through the colors, adding depth and a kind of rawness. It reminds me a little of some of Whistler’s watercolors, or maybe even some of Cy Twombly’s more delicate drawings, where the process is so much a part of the final piece.