Canal Scene, Venice 19th-20th century

Curator: This is Denman Waldo Ross’s "Canal Scene, Venice," currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a rather small piece, less than a foot in either dimension. Editor: The heavy brushstrokes! I’m immediately struck by the sheer materiality of the paint, thick and almost sculptural. Curator: Considering Venice's history as a mercantile power, it's easy to read the canal as a site of labor and trade, a space shaped by the circulation of goods and people. Editor: Absolutely. The way the artist renders the water—the visible layers of paint reflecting light—highlights the labor involved in creating this illusion of movement. Curator: The buildings themselves also speak to the economic and political structures that shaped Venice. The architecture is undeniably linked to power and privilege. Editor: And yet, Ross doesn’t idealize it. There’s a certain roughness, an honesty in the application of paint, that keeps it grounded. Curator: The painting complicates easy narratives of Venetian romance, doesn't it? Editor: It does. I appreciate how Ross foregrounds the physical act of painting. It's more than just a pretty picture. Curator: A fitting way to consider Venice, a city built on trade, labor, and the materiality of its own existence. Editor: Indeed, a city always under construction, and this painting captures a moment in that perpetual making.