Landscape with Three Trees, Near Naples, Italy 19th-20th century

Editor: This is "Landscape with Three Trees, Near Naples, Italy" by Denman Waldo Ross, housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. The colors feel muted, like a memory fading into the fog. What do you see in this piece, beyond the obvious landscape? Curator: Oh, I adore how Ross captures a mood, a fleeting moment. Notice how the trees are almost like silent witnesses, standing guard over the landscape. It feels both familiar and dreamlike, doesn't it? Almost like a stage set. What do you make of that hazy light? Editor: It's true—the light gives it an ethereal quality. I hadn't thought of a stage set, but now I see it! Thanks for that perspective. Curator: It’s like a scene from a play, or a half remembered dream. Art is full of surprises, if you know where to look!