Buildings, Amalfi, Italy (?)

Editor: This is "Buildings, Amalfi, Italy (?)" by Denman Waldo Ross. The watercolor has a very dreamlike quality. What can you tell me about its context? Curator: It’s interesting to consider Ross's work within the context of early 20th-century American travel and artistic education. Why Italy? What did it mean to paint these scenes and bring them back home? Editor: So, it’s as much about the American experience as the Italian? Curator: Precisely. It reflects a particular cultural moment of artistic pilgrimage. The soft washes evoke a sense of nostalgia, idealizing a distant place. Editor: I see, the painting acts as a kind of cultural souvenir. Curator: Exactly. It prompts questions about the marketing and consumption of art during that period. Something to consider.