Valley with Cottages c. 1840

William Bennett painted this landscape, Valley with Cottages, using watercolor on paper. Watercolor is a deceptive medium. It’s easily portable and seems effortless, but it takes real skill to control the way the pigment behaves on the paper. Bennett coaxes soft, graduated tones from the diluted paint, defining the rolling hills and foliage with subtle washes of color. The cottages are mere dabs of pigment, yet they feel like anchored dwellings in the vast expanse of the valley. The rough texture of the paper itself contributes to the image, catching the light and adding a tactile dimension to the scene. The ease with which Bennett captured the scene belies the labor inherent in the landscape itself. The cottages, fields, and distant hills all speak to human intervention, cultivation, and care, all made possible through the application of skill. It reminds us to look closely at the world around us and appreciate the labor that makes our surroundings possible.