Study for "Faith" and "Hope" c. 1890

Curator: Looking at John La Farge's watercolor and colored pencil study, titled "Study for 'Faith' and 'Hope'," created around 1890. The soft, diffused light immediately strikes me. Editor: Yes, it evokes a sense of gentle melancholy. There's a weightiness in the way the figures are rendered, a gravity in their expressions. I am particularly drawn to the process that yields these shapes. You can tell the drawing almost comes into itself gradually. Curator: Absolutely. La Farge was deeply influenced by Symbolism, evident in the ethereal quality and the focus on inner, spiritual states. We see two figures, likely allegorical representations of faith and hope. What intrigues me is the subtle commentary on the roles women were often assigned within the context of late 19th-century social discourse. Their idealized form invites scrutiny regarding feminine virtues and expectations. Editor: The materiality contributes to this mood. The wash of the watercolors gives it an almost dreamlike quality, while the figures themselves seem weighed down, almost grounded by the dense underlayers. What's also captivating is the visible labour within this work, showing layering, changes, and choices that were essential to the crafting of the drawing. The evidence of hand, almost unburdened. Curator: Exactly. Consider the historical context—the rise of industrialization and urbanization. La Farge offers a counter-narrative, evoking a sense of timeless, almost mystical belief at the close of a century. This could speak volumes about the place of religiosity, the female form, the use of labor and their interplay as signifiers. Editor: The interplay is definitely significant. In many ways, we observe the making visible the undercurrent of meaning through choices made in this piece, as you noted. Not to mention, both an adherence and also rejection of these qualities that he's dealing with and wrestling between that of a male and female approach. How interesting, and really challenging some norms that existed about art processes as a product and not just that but art creation, itself. Curator: Yes. We see through "Study for 'Faith' and 'Hope'," a moment frozen in time. La Farge urges us to not only to dwell on how women can offer guidance on virtues, and expectations but reflect upon a specific socio-historical construction—but the hopes and aspirations as human construction as a whole. Editor: For me, engaging with this watercolor has prompted consideration for how we value, process and, through time, evolve to even see change and see ourselves different within art in itself.