Andante (Sonata of the Serpent) 1908

Editor: This is "Andante (Sonata of the Serpent)," a 1908 watercolor by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis. I’m really struck by the layering of the landscape. What can you tell me about it? Curator: What's most compelling here is how Ciurlionis uses the watercolor medium to explore ideas of materiality and process. The diluted pigments create this ethereal quality, but consider also how it mimics the geological processes represented. Look at the cliffs, the serpent-like cloud. Editor: You mean like the sedimentation or weathering of the landscape is reflected in the layering of the watercolor? Curator: Precisely! And the light. Where does it come from? Note the almost industrial, manufactured feel, of the sharp beams—in opposition to the organic form of the landscape it illuminates. What social commentaries are made by placing industry on nature? Editor: Wow, I didn’t think about that. The light sources almost look like searchlights, changing my understanding of the peaceful looking tower into something that feels surveyed or under control. Curator: Yes, it reframes our interpretation! Now consider how the very act of making art becomes a form of labor, mirroring the labor extracted from the landscape itself. Do you find the traditional categories of "landscape art" sufficient to explain that process? Editor: I never thought about it that way. Seeing the materiality and how it mirrors social issues surrounding labor and industrialisation of nature has reshaped how I understand landscape paintings. Curator: Exactly. By focusing on the means of production, we reveal hidden narratives embedded within seemingly conventional genres.