Landscape with Church, Giverny, France 19th-20th century

Curator: This is Denman Waldo Ross's watercolor, "Landscape with Church, Giverny, France," currently residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s so light, airy! The greens feel almost translucent, and the church sort of emerges dreamlike from the landscape. Curator: Ross was deeply influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement. He was a proponent of art's role in everyday life. He taught design principles emphasizing harmony and balance. Editor: I’m intrigued by the watercolor. How the pigments interact with the paper itself – that interplay is really fundamental to the finished piece. It’s about the physical properties of the materials. Curator: Exactly. The church as a subject holds historical weight too, signaling community and faith in the French countryside. Editor: Agreed, but the application of the pigment and its resulting effect are equally as important. It is almost like the church itself is a product of the materials used. Curator: Precisely. So it’s a nice intersection of social symbolism and material expression. Editor: Indeed. A fresh perspective emerges when we consider these elements side by side.