The Tower 1920

Charles Demuth’s ‘The Tower’ is a watercolor that captures a slice of urban architecture with an unusual sense of light. Demuth lets the watercolor bleed and pool in places, giving the architecture a ghostly feel. It reminds me of how I often let the paint lead, trusting the process to reveal the image. The paint is thinly applied, almost transparent, allowing the paper’s texture to peek through, especially in the sky. The surface is matte, and the colors are muted, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. The sharp lines define the tower and the rooftops, contrasting with the softness of the watercolor washes. Look at how Demuth uses these lines, they are really crisp but still feel like they're just resting on the paper. Demuth's precision and control evoke the clean lines of Precisionism, while his delicate touch recalls the atmospheric studies of someone like J.M.W. Turner. It’s like a quiet conversation between different ways of seeing and rendering the world, with the tower standing as a testament to the beauty found in simple forms.