Melting Snow Maiden 

Curator: Here we have "Melting Snow Maiden," a watercolor by Vasily Perov. Editor: Oh, that's terribly sad, isn't it? A spectral figure clinging to a well, the two dark figures looming behind her… such delicate washes of colour adding to the gloom. Curator: The romantic and figurative style lends itself well to this tale, although it is an interesting take as it’s quite impressionistic as well.. Notice the material applications too. The transparency of the medium itself mirrors the subject's ephemeral nature; the way the watercolour pools and dries creates textures akin to melting ice, mirroring how Perov might have considered the socioeconomic factors that affected craft, and thus art. Editor: Right, because you’re all about materials, right? What matters to me is the feels here: look how she literally seems to melt into the wooden structure behind her. She’s like a memory dissolving into the cold, hard facts of that well, a vessel… for grief, maybe? And those birds pecking around... scavenging even in this melancholy scene. The story's literally sinking into the ice. Curator: True, though I believe our engagement with these narratives always has been and still is influenced by material culture. Even the availability of specific pigments could sway the palette of a given painting, shifting the balance of representation and symbolism according to supply chains or even technological innovations within art-making materials themselves. Editor: Alright, alright, Mr. Paint-Tube Detective. I still see tragedy here, front and center! The delicate snow maiden's essence slipping away… What else is this world giving us besides just sorrow?! But yes the water color…the well water metaphor seems intended with Perov’s medium choice. Curator: Perov does imbue sorrow… Perhaps Perov is encouraging our ability to reflect, allowing us a better position to observe, participate, critique, and therefore, to progress the materiality of our own cultures through understanding the production around them, even art! Editor: Alright, fair point. Art to incite progress is never bad. Even when it leaves a puddle of tears.