Landscape, Patras, Greece 19th-20th century

Editor: Here we have Denman Waldo Ross's watercolor, Landscape, Patras, Greece, at the Harvard Art Museums. It has such a serene, almost dreamlike quality with these soft washes of color. What compositional elements stand out to you? Curator: Observe how Ross employs a limited palette, primarily blues and greens, to create a sense of atmospheric perspective. The composition leads the eye from the foreground, up the hillside, towards the culminating mountain peak. Editor: It's fascinating how the lack of sharp definition almost abstracts the landscape. Curator: Indeed. The loose brushwork and translucent washes emphasize the surface quality of the paper, drawing attention to the materiality of the medium itself. The reduction to basic shapes and colors, wouldn't you agree, allows for a focus on the formal elements? Editor: Yes, now I see how the very simplicity creates a unique depth. Thanks for pointing that out.