Redentore 1924

Editor: James McBey's watercolor, "Redentore," created in 1924, captures a harbor scene. It feels almost dreamlike with its muted tones, but the texture seems carefully considered. What do you see in terms of composition and form? Curator: Notice first the careful arrangement of lines: the masts reaching upwards are almost calligraphic, aren't they? They establish a rhythmic visual scaffolding against the more muted horizontality of the water and shoreline. And how do you interpret the washes of colour? Editor: They seem to dissolve the forms, especially in the background, creating depth. But the contrast between the detailed boats in the foreground and the almost ethereal buildings behind is interesting. Curator: Precisely. Consider the spatial organization here. McBey uses aerial perspective, of course – colours desaturating into the distance, creating recession. But look closer. Do you think it helps create an unsettling, slightly flattened picture plane overall? It almost denies a true sense of depth. Editor: I see what you mean! Despite the receding detail, the colour palette maintains a consistent tonality which in a way flattens the picture. Why do you think McBey chose to depict the scene this way? Curator: He perhaps wanted to emphasize the abstract qualities of light and atmosphere, overriding a purely representational goal. The interplay between form and formlessness becomes key here, doesn't it? The materiality is deliberately drawing our attention, because even the city in the distance is reduced to almost nothing, nearly becoming like a mirage or idea. Editor: It does! Thank you for pointing out how the details and aerial perspective both work to add a kind of formal tension! Curator: Indeed. I noticed new layers of form in what I first considered was solely landscape; every conversation helps highlight a new level of abstraction in it.