When Spain was Great 1927

Curator: Philip Little's etching, titled "When Spain was Great," completed in 1927, captures a moment that asks us to consider colonial legacies and maritime power. Editor: Wow. Immediately, I’m feeling this… almost melancholic vastness. It's as if these ships are sailing into memory itself, or fading from our world, swallowed by an almost infinite horizon. There is something ghost-like, not heroic, about them. Curator: It's interesting you say ghost-like, given the work's temporal context. The 1920s saw a resurgence of interest in earlier historical periods and imperial powers but also a growing disillusionment in their impacts. This piece offers, I think, a perspective tinged with that skepticism, as the “greatness” suggested is undeniably linked to exploitation and violence. Editor: Exactly! I love the subdued palette Little chose; or rather, etched. The monochrome and hazy atmosphere definitely support that feeling. If it was blazing with colour, the grandeur of the ships might take center stage but that isn’t happening here. What technical choices really stand out to you? Curator: Well, the intricacy of the etching process is remarkable. The use of fine lines to render such massive ships really demonstrates impressive technical control, highlighting the inherent power— and by implication, the hubris — associated with such maritime strength. The strategic placement of the ships themselves— one much closer and darker than the other adds dynamism. It could almost be suggesting an active history against one relegated to mere myth or a story in hindsight. Editor: True! Almost like two possible readings. And as much as I appreciate art with grand sweeping statements, there’s room for thought that Little makes space for. It stays with you. Curator: Indeed, it invites a continuous re-evaluation. A work so rooted in a particular historical context offering relevant entry points into our own contemporary discourse about empire, history, and power. Editor: Absolutely. It's history with a very delicate wink to the future, no?