Lago Maggiore 1834

Editor: This is "Lago Maggiore," a watercolor from 1834 by Miklos Barabas. There's a gentle haze to the scene; it feels almost dreamlike. What draws your eye when you look at it? Curator: The first thing that strikes me is Barabas's use of watercolor. This was produced *en plein air* – that is, outside – so consider what that implies. The artist transports himself, his pigments, his paper... it becomes a sort of proto-industrial act, a means to quickly capture a landscape that can then be circulated, consumed. Were there other images like it in circulation? Did people travel to *see* Lago Maggiore, influenced by these readily available artworks? Editor: So the *making* of the artwork is just as significant as the artwork itself. The way the scene is being manufactured and consumed? Curator: Precisely. The labor embedded in creating even what seems like a simple watercolor, and then the social forces unleashed once it enters circulation, they become part of the image's meaning. This piece may be about Lago Maggiore, sure, but it's also a document reflecting early tourism and artistic production. Look how faint it is. This speaks to how paintings became lighter to travel, to be marketed... it’s quite revealing about the period! Editor: That's a really interesting way to think about it. I was just seeing a pretty landscape, but now I see all this social context. Curator: It's not just *seeing* it; it's understanding how it came to be *seen* by others, its journey. And how this accessibility democratizes art in some ways, making consumption widespread...but also, the work’s value is potentially cheapened, no? Food for thought.