The Cedars Of Lebanon 

Curator: Here we have "The Cedars of Lebanon," rendered in what appears to be watercolor. The artist, Edward Henry Potthast, captures a rugged landscape under a muted sky. What catches your eye first about this piece? Editor: The textures, definitely. The rough, exposed rock in the foreground—it looks so tactile, almost as though you could reach out and feel the grit and the fissures. It’s immediately grounding, juxtaposed against the ethereal mountain range in the background. Curator: Yes, the painting skillfully utilizes contrasting textures to create depth. Cedars, particularly, carry considerable symbolic weight in many cultures, representing resilience, longevity, and even immortality. These trees connect earthly existence to the divine. Editor: Knowing the title adds another layer. I see how the gnarled branches of the cedars are emphasized; each brushstroke defining them, the work suggests a certain reverence, yet it’s clearly of a specific place. How would this artist come into contact with this specific environment? The movement captured, almost looks like an early photograph trying to freeze a fleeting scene, not as a spiritual one. Curator: It’s believed the painting was done en plein air. Considering the period and Potthast's wider artistic style, we could see the influence of Romanticism and its emphasis on experiencing nature directly, however it seems the Romantic idea, as we would define it in visual culture seems a touch overdone and flattened to what would be popular. Editor: Interesting you say flattened... There’s an immediacy that comes with the quick strokes and wash of color, almost as if Potthast was concerned with catching a fleeting light, it emphasizes the materiality of paint and paper over grand allegorical gestures. Curator: Perhaps the balance between observing the symbolic value of such trees within various faiths but with a strong awareness that to study them, to paint them directly is an entirely other way to comprehend meaning that runs through these Cedars. Editor: A great push and pull. Maybe in this work Potthast invites the viewers into a particular process with certain raw materials, he provides context to create some space for meditation in their specific context as they consider what those trees mean or even are supposed to mean. Curator: It's quite powerful seeing how layers of symbolism can emerge and almost recede when put to material representation and experience, isn't it? Editor: Precisely, I will definitely walk away remembering the weight of rocks below the thin light blue hues that become the Mountains.