Cappucini Amalfi Monastery 1887

Curator: Joseph Smith's "Cappucini Amalfi Monastery" captures a sun-drenched scene, its dimensions roughly 31 by 49 centimeters. Editor: It’s wonderfully evocative – a hazy wash of light and color that feels intensely Mediterranean. The lemons are so vibrant, almost luminous. Curator: Notice how Smith uses watercolor to create these effects. The transparency of the medium allows the white of the paper to shine through, heightening the luminosity you mentioned. Editor: Precisely! And that luminosity, in turn, calls attention to the manual process of watercolor painting and the labor of producing the painting. Curator: I appreciate your point, but I find myself more drawn to the composition. The layering of the lemon trees and the monastery itself creates a sense of depth and complexity. Editor: I can't help but think of the citrus cultivation and trade that sustained Amalfi. This painting is evidence of that material reality. Curator: It's an interesting dialogue, indeed, between the land, the monastery, and the artist’s rendering. Editor: Yes, it all points to the many hands that make art and place, literally.