Landscape with Footbridge and Stream 19th-20th century

Editor: This is "Landscape with Footbridge and Stream" by Denman Waldo Ross. The luscious greens and textured brushstrokes give it such an immediate, almost tactile quality. What strikes you about the materiality of this painting? Curator: The visible brushstrokes and vibrant pigment draw my attention to Ross's labor, to the very act of making. How does the painting's apparent spontaneity relate to the social context of landscape painting at that time? Editor: That’s fascinating. I hadn't considered the historical context of landscape painting in relation to labor. Curator: Right. Ross seems less concerned with idealized nature than with the physical process of translating a scene onto canvas. We see the means of production, the materiality, on full display. Editor: Seeing it that way, I now appreciate how the visible brushstrokes emphasize the artist's presence and the effort involved in creating the artwork. Thanks for this new perspective.