Little Quimper 1883

Curator: Before us is "Little Quimper," an etching crafted by Charles Adams Platt in 1883, now residing here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Editor: Quimper! Makes me think of weathered docks and salty tales—you can almost smell the brine just looking at the piece, despite the sepia tones. The main thing you see at first glance is a ship berthed with masts climbing like a spiderweb over the skyline. It definitely catches the eye, creating that nautical, vintage feel. Curator: Note how Platt masterfully utilizes the etching technique, employing densely packed lines to construct form and texture. Consider, in particular, the visual weight accorded to the ship docked in the foreground versus the distant cathedral spires. There is a semiotic tension in that dichotomy. Editor: See, it almost feels like a dream you’d have after reading Melville, where the city in the background becomes a haunting phantom. It does capture how memories blend – like looking at Quimper, but only half remembering it. I feel that the mood comes from the detail shown on the ship as opposed to the city. The contrast of crisp boat next to fuzzy spires captures memory as well as place. Curator: Indeed, and the composition reveals a careful balance, steering clear of stark asymmetry through the considered placement of visual elements, and notice how the reflection on the water also suggests formal mirroring. The water provides not only atmosphere but also a point of perspective. Editor: The reflections dancing on the water almost turn the world upside down—as though a memory were reflected back at you from the past. To me it almost captures those blurry feelings associated with coming home, those intangible, melancholic notions when familiar locales take on a fresh look with strange contours. Curator: It certainly holds a nostalgic allure. What strikes me is the level of technical skill Platt used to convey a complex sense of light and depth. A delicate study, a work pregnant with compositional integrity. Editor: It makes you wonder what Platt felt staring out into that harbor! It must have felt like glimpsing his own fleeting reflection. Anyway, I suppose now others get a glimpse of theirs.