Gezicht op de stad Londen gezien vanaf de rivier de Theems 1745 - 1775

Editor: Here we have "View of the City of London from the River Thames" by Jean-François Daumont, created sometime between 1745 and 1775, and rendered in watercolour. The pale colours and the almost regimented arrangement of ships give the image a formal, even stately feel. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Indeed. Let us consider first the composition. Notice how the artist employs a strict horizontal division, establishing a clear foreground of the river, a middle ground occupied by the cityscape, and a background of sky. The interplay of vertical masts against the horizontal cityscape creates a structured visual field. Editor: I hadn't really noticed that strong structure, I was just looking at the...scene. Curator: Precisely! Now, let us turn our attention to the materiality. The watercolor medium lends itself to a certain degree of transparency and lightness, evident in the subtle gradations of tone and colour. How does this affect our reading of the image? Editor: I suppose it contributes to the 'stately' feeling I got at first, kind of delicate and proper. Curator: It softens the otherwise rigid geometry, doesn't it? Creating an aesthetic tension. The subtle textures achieved with watercolour suggest an engagement with the medium itself. These artistic choices generate meaning independently of the representational subject. Editor: It's interesting to think of the visual elements carrying so much of the weight, instead of the historical context. Curator: It’s a different way of approaching it. Understanding that the structure *is* the meaning. I think focusing on Daumont’s handling of form and materiality definitely provides us with insights we may have otherwise missed. Editor: Absolutely. Thanks for opening my eyes to the formalism approach.