Naples 19th-20th century

Curator: This is Denman Waldo Ross's watercolor titled "Naples," currently residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Oh, it’s wonderfully… bleached. Like looking at a memory through a sun-baked lens. Curator: Indeed. Ross, deeply influenced by his travels, often depicted scenes reflective of local color and daily life. Here, we see Naples, perhaps less as a tourist destination, and more a lived-in space. Editor: There's such a stillness, but also a kind of joyful transience. The way the blues in the sea almost vibrate against the muted earth tones. It feels like a fleeting moment perfectly captured. Curator: Ross's choice of watercolor allows for a delicate balance, avoiding the potential for grand romanticism in favor of a more understated, perhaps even documentary approach to the subject. Editor: I love how the skeletal structure on the lower right, almost like a ruin, is filled with pastel shades; so playful and unexpected. It brings a certain levity. Curator: Ross was clearly engaging with the modernist drive to portray the world with a fresh gaze, moving beyond academic expectations to embrace a more simplified and direct visual language. Editor: I can see that. It's as if he distilled the essence of Naples into a handful of washes and lines. It leaves me wanting to sit there and watch the light change.