Early Morning—Venice 1902 - 1905

William Gedney Bunce created this painting of Venice, called Early Morning, with oil on canvas. The painting is all about muted tones, greys and blacks—it’s atmospheric, you can almost smell the water! I can imagine Bunce, out there in his studio, with his palette of greys, trying to capture the light as it hits the lagoon. I wonder if he was thinking about Whistler. Those tall ships! They remind me of Barnett Newman's ‘zips’ - something stable to offset the haziness. There’s so much going on in what seems like a simple painting. See how the shapes are echoed in the water? It must have been quite a dance of brushstrokes to make this all come together, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. It makes me want to get back to the studio.