Sea 1898

Curator: Looking at this, the overriding feeling I get is calm; the colours are so soft. Editor: Yes, there's definitely a quietness to it. We're looking at "Sea," an 1898 oil painting by Lev Lagorio, a piece deeply embedded in the late 19th-century fascination with maritime landscapes. Curator: The light, particularly, makes me think of Romanticism—Turner springs to mind. Do you see an influence of seascape painting in general, with maybe some dark symbolism involved in such depictions of ships. Editor: The maritime motif held potent symbols; the ship as a metaphor for the soul’s journey, and the ocean a representation of the unconscious, or the sublime power of nature that transcends our earthly concerns. It’s definitely present here. Lagorio worked at a time of significant political upheaval in Russia and, more broadly, across Europe; there were widespread concerns about maritime strength and Russia’s naval prowess in the Black sea during its late expansionist era, yet this picture does not depict anything specific to comment upon. Curator: He doesn’t seem to be saying something that obvious here. Maybe something simpler and more direct, that sea is where we've all come from. He is not focusing only on Russian imagery. Even its lack of sharp detail; it reminds me of the hazy veil over memory. Editor: Absolutely, the dreamlike quality allows the viewer to engage with universal feelings of wanderlust and solitude. The light and the muted tones—are they maybe a comment on human's mortality as it is observed and set agains't the eternity of the Sea and the Sky? Curator: That could certainly be read in it. It evokes contemplation. Thanks, for taking a fresh look with me. Editor: My pleasure; it has been great to dive beneath its surface.