Venice, The Little Bridge 1912

Maurice Prendergast made this watercolour, Venice, The Little Bridge, at an unknown date. The colour palette here is delicious, I love the pale blues, tans, and reds that create the buildings, figures, and bridge. I see the way Prendergast has applied the paint in loose washes, letting the colours bleed into each other, it’s a great example of the artist embracing the fluidity of the medium. When I look at this piece, I am drawn to the bridge itself, and how it acts as a literal and metaphorical connection between different parts of the scene. The artist's brushstrokes have a kind of lightness, as if he is capturing a fleeting impression of the city. There’s a real sense of movement in the water beneath the bridge, as well as in the figures walking across. You can see the artist's hand in the way he has chosen to depict the scene, and the way he has allowed the watercolour to do its thing. Prendergast reminds me a little of Bonnard, in the way he is drawn to scenes of leisure and the way he uses colour to create a mood. Both artists encourage us to see the world in new and unexpected ways.