Watercolor c. 20th century

Editor: Here we have an untitled watercolor drawing, believed to be from the 20th century and part of the Minneapolis Institute of Art's collection. I'm struck by how vibrant the red is against the simple geometric pattern, like a hand-drawn textile sample. How would you interpret this piece? Curator: The painting's allure resides in its formal properties. Observe the artist's use of color – a saturated red field against which a pattern of diamonds unfolds, bordered by indigo and white lines. Editor: It's almost hypnotic, the way the diamonds repeat. Curator: Indeed, the repetitive geometric structure demands our attention. It flattens the pictorial space and emphasizes the work’s surface, eschewing traditional illusionistic depth. What effect does this have on your reading of the work? Editor: It makes it feel more like an object, I guess, than a scene or picture. Curator: Precisely. Consider the watercolor medium itself, allowing for nuanced gradations within each diamond. There is the tension between the geometric exactitude of the pattern, and the subtle variations inherent in the manual application of the pigment. Editor: So it's the contrast between order and the slightly handmade quality. It makes it more engaging than if it were perfectly printed. Curator: Precisely. A meticulous exploration of form, line, and color yields its complexities. Editor: I see that now. Thanks. That gave me a completely new way to understand it. Curator: And I trust that considering its visual elements first provides a valuable means to see more clearly and more deeply.