Venice 1903

Thomas Moran painted this shimmering vision of Venice, probably in oil, sometime in his career. Look at how the city emerges from the misty blues, greys, and whites. You can see the brushstrokes, not too thick, more like he’s dabbing the paint, building up the shapes and reflections gradually. I can imagine Moran standing there, trying to capture the scene, but also losing himself in the light and the atmosphere. There’s a back and forth between the observed and the felt, the real and the imagined. Check out the boats with their tall sails, each one a gesture, an invitation, like a conversation between forms across the water. There’s something so beautiful about how painters like Moran keep that conversation going, echoing Turner and anticipating artists like Twombly. Venice has been painted a lot, but Moran’s version feels fresh, like he's seeing it for the first time.