Early Spring: Sun Struggling Through Clouds (Landscape) 1864

Editor: This is John La Farge’s *Early Spring: Sun Struggling Through Clouds*, a landscape piece. The bare tree against the stormy sky creates such a stark, solitary feeling. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Notice how the skeletal tree reaches towards the light. For me, this symbolizes resilience. A cultural memory of survival, perhaps? The artist is showing us the promise of renewal after hardship. What feelings does this symbol evoke? Editor: It’s interesting you say that. I see it as maybe melancholic, like the end of something. Curator: Perhaps it's both. The beauty of symbols is their multiple layers of meaning. Editor: Absolutely. I'll never look at a bare tree the same way again!