Grand Canal, Rialto, Venice 1924

James McBey made this watercolor of the Grand Canal in Venice sometime in the first half of the 20th century. The hazy blues and soft tans feel like a memory, a recollection of the city that has been partially washed away by time. I love how McBey uses the thinnest of washes to suggest the buildings and the reflections in the water. Look how the Rialto Bridge just barely exists in the background, as if it could disappear at any moment. I can almost feel McBey standing there, trying to capture the essence of Venice in a few quick strokes. Maybe he was thinking about Turner, another painter who was obsessed with light and atmosphere. I'm sure Turner would have loved to see this. Painters are always in conversation with each other, you know, across time and space. Each one building on what came before, adding their own unique voice to the mix. Each brushstroke is a gesture of communication, a way of saying, "I was here, and this is what I saw."