Last Rays, la Piazzetta, Venice 1905

Curator: Clarence Gagnon's "Last Rays, la Piazzetta, Venice" from 1905, an oil painting that captures the famous Venetian square. What's your first impression? Editor: I see captured light. It's like he seized a fleeting moment, when that one side of the pillar still holds the sun and everything else is starting to cool and grey, I wonder did he really paint this there. I feel like I'm actually standing there on that blue pavement feeling the Venetian twilight closing in around me. Curator: And you know, it is interesting that you mention location: as a Canadian, Gagnon traveled extensively in Europe, particularly favoring scenes in France and Italy. He found this particular site a rich source of inspiration; a site infused with the labor of empire as Venice once commanded vast trading networks. We can feel the past pressing down on those present enjoying the moment now. Editor: Definitely; let's not forget this pillar. So it's probably carved from marble or Istrian stone? Each would have required quarrying, transporting by sea. And then imagine the manpower, shaping, hoisting. All this for a symbol of Venetian power, perched between the sea and Doge's palace! Curator: He really emphasizes, through brushstrokes, that relationship between something enduring and something fragile and changing - that very thing about the transient moment and how it sort of pierces our hearts... Do you find the crowd makes it impersonal? Editor: No, I actually find it enhances the impression of being "in the moment". The scale seems almost indifferent to the lives unfolding around it. Speaking of paint—can we talk about this texture? Gagnon applies paint quite thickly in some areas and really scumbles the colors, creating depth, like he is modelling and also painting Curator: Yes, that textural handling is essential to creating the play of light and shadow you first responded to. His painting embodies the ethos of Impressionism. Editor: But in saying that you also recognize what work goes into achieving that impression - no pun intended... From mixing pigments to choosing canvas and then to application, layering of materials into an affective aesthetic Curator: This brings us to something about Venice itself. The light reflects and refracts in a magical, haunting way here that maybe drew the artist and you in...I wonder, what does one carry away from a moment like this... a fleeting glimpse, an understanding, an idea perhaps... Editor: Yes - capturing that material fleeting is actually an enormous effort. The painting becomes almost an archeological specimen of labor that then reminds us of that long since faded twilight, somewhere near Doge's palace.