Vesuvius 1904

Mary Newbold Sargent made this lovely little watercolor of Vesuvius. You can really see the artist here, squinting in the bright Italian light. I wonder if the paint was thick or thin? The mountain itself is an exercise in tone, shifting from a near black at the summit to softer greys towards the base. The wash seems to have been applied in horizontal bands creating a stillness, which belies the geological forces at play. I suppose artists are always talking to one another across time, finding new ways to depict the world and their place within it. A conversation that we are invited to join. What does it say to you?