Jar with Cover c. 1936

Curator: At first glance, there's something quite unassuming about the "Jar with Cover," executed in watercolor around 1936 by Charlotte Angus. What's your immediate impression? Editor: A certain modesty, definitely. The gentle ochre wash is rather unassuming; it reminds me of pottery but softened, like a memory of it. Its appeal is subtle, not grandiose. The blues really pull you in as your eye traces the patterns. Curator: Exactly. While the colors suggest stoneware, the medium provides a dreamlike or, better yet, ghostly quality that contrasts against conventional forms. Think of how watercolours themselves have signified purity and the passage of life. These were key art-making concepts at the time. How might this cultural perception shape our interpretation? Editor: That's interesting. I think that the washes definitely help you sense a historical lineage but are decidedly a-historical in effect. With regard to structure, though, you see the blues draw your eye around the whole. And this leads me back to the way I appreciate the colour itself, not simply for any symbolism it could evoke. I am keen to consider the work in its construction rather than its cultural moment. Curator: The floral motifs though, those three-petaled blossoms—they whisper of heraldry, of the persistent human desire to organize the natural world into symbols of identity and legacy. It creates an intriguing dichotomy with the seeming fragility of the rendering itself. Editor: Agreed. Still, my sense is that this image uses floral figures decoratively rather than as meaningful allegories. Perhaps it speaks to the ongoing debate of form versus representation... How it looks over what it means... What a satisfying bit of chromatic tension though! Curator: Indeed. "Jar with Cover" leaves us pondering the enduring power of symbolism alongside the pure joy of aesthetic arrangement. Editor: Leaving one with a deep satisfaction. I love it and cannot wait to discover another gem.