Mendrisio 

Curator: This is "Mendrisio" by John Warwick Smith, painted with watercolor on paper. Smith, who lived from 1749 to 1831, really captured something special here. Editor: It's got this kind of faded postcard feeling, doesn't it? Like a memory seen through a heat haze. Curator: Landscape imagery in the 18th century was often associated with notions of the sublime and the picturesque, and Smith captures those ideals here by portraying nature as both grand and inviting. Editor: I'm drawn to the way the architecture nestles so perfectly into the landscape. The buildings almost feel like an extension of the mountainside. Curator: Perhaps Smith wanted to convey a sense of harmony between humanity and nature, a theme prevalent in much Romantic art. Editor: It does feel peaceful, almost timeless. Curator: A slice of 18th-century Switzerland, captured in watercolour. Editor: Something about it just makes you want to pack a bag and go find that little town.