Stadhuis in Capodistria 1902

Carel Nicolaas Storm van 's-Gravesande made this watercolor, of the Stadhuis in Capodistria, which is now Koper, Slovenia, sometime around 1902. Look at how the paper peeks through the thin washes of color, giving the scene a hazy, sun-drenched feel. I can imagine him standing there with his watercolor pad, trying to capture the light as it bounces off the stone buildings and the figures milling about in the square. It's like he's trying to pin down a fleeting moment, a memory of a place. The details are kind of impressionistic, right? There's a looseness to it, but it still feels grounded in reality. The muted palette of grays, blues, and greens reminds me of some of Corot’s landscapes, where atmosphere and light are just as important as the subject matter. I bet van 's-Gravesande was thinking about those painters, riffing on their ideas in his own way. Painting is such a conversation across time! It's all about call and response.