Les Eaux Douces D’asie 1870 - 1880

Curator: Oh, this is nice! I love how the water just absorbs the light and makes it glow from within. What are your initial impressions? Editor: Mmm, misty and melancholic. It's like looking at a memory fading around the edges. Everything feels transient, even the figures by the water’s edge. Curator: We're looking at "Les Eaux Douces d'Asie", or "The Sweet Waters of Asia," by Félix Ziem, probably painted between 1870 and 1880. It appears to be executed in mixed media, likely including watercolor. And the sweetness here may extend to its representation of Istanbul's Kağıthane district, a common picnic and leisure destination on the Sweet Waters of Europe river. The symbolism here would draw connections of a kind of idyllic Orientalism. Editor: Orientalism, huh? It certainly has that dreamy quality to it. It’s funny, the people are painted with such broad strokes, yet the reflection of the sky on the water feels meticulously observed. Does that make sense? It is like memory – you see the broad outlines of faces, the hues of things, more than clearly detailed images. Curator: Absolutely. And this would resonate with many who came to visit or imagine this destination. It speaks to how we use places for sentimental experiences – a shared ritual, so to speak. Editor: The way the minarets fade into the horizon – almost ghosts. Is this painterly looseness intentional or simply... unfinished? It gives me an emotional response and speaks to its dreamlike symbolism either way! Curator: Ziem was part of a generation grappling with representing place, memory and emotion, moving towards Impressionism, so that effect might be exactly his goal here, evoking a place while admitting its loss. It makes this, despite the seemingly cheerful subject matter, poignant. The ‘sweet waters’ themselves will transform, as do we. Editor: Absolutely, it is quite striking now. All this talk of time and transition is making me want to find a sweet waterfront spot. Curator: Well then! Perhaps we should make like the vacationers in Ziem's painting, and seek out such scenery. It’s incredible to me that he could evoke all those feelings with such simplicity of line.