Percival Lowell (1855-1916) 1917 - 1918

Curator: Ercole Cartotto’s "Percival Lowell" presents us with a formal portrait, a man in academic regalia, captured in shades of gray. Editor: He's swallowed up by that robe! It’s as if the cosmos he studied has folded in on him, all that velvet darkness… Curator: Indeed. The stark monochrome emphasizes the interplay of light and shadow, creating a somber mood. The texture of the robe contrasts with Lowell's composed expression. Editor: It’s a lot of fabric though, isn't it? I wonder if he felt a little lost in there, adrift in a sea of academic expectation. Curator: Perhaps. But that sea also represents the weight of knowledge, the vastness of what he sought to understand. Editor: Right, and maybe Cartotto wanted to capture that sense of searching within something that felt bigger than himself. Curator: A lovely thought. I like that.