Landscape 1982

Editor: This is Elena Prentice’s "Landscape," from the Harvard Art Museums. The watercolor is quite small. I'm intrigued by the artist's use of framing lines around the central image. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The artist’s restricted palette—primarily blues and yellows—establishes a compelling tension. Note how the washes of color create a sense of depth, despite the diminutive scale. Are the framing lines part of the landscape? Editor: I see how the layered washes build depth. But those lines...perhaps they are boundaries, a self-imposed limitation of expression? Curator: Precisely. The superimposition of geometric rigor onto an atmospheric landscape, is quite striking. Editor: I hadn't considered the geometry. Thinking about form and structure really changes how I see this work. Curator: Indeed. Form precedes content; the structure dictates the reading.