Landscape with Cypresses 1896

Editor: Here we have Denman Waldo Ross’s "Landscape with Cypresses," currently housed at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a modestly sized oil painting, and I'm struck by the texture of the paint and the layers of labor involved in building up this scene. What catches your eye about it? Curator: I'm drawn to how the materiality of the paint itself mimics the rough textures of the landscape. Consider the social context: Ross, an academic, choosing to depict this scene, and the labor involved. Do you think he considered the implications of painting a landscape, versus the actual work involved in cultivating it? Editor: That’s a good point. It makes me wonder about the consumption of landscape art versus the actual consumption of the land. Thanks for the insight! Curator: It makes one consider our relationship to both art and nature. Thank you.