A Wooded River Landscape 1839 - 1840

Curator: I'm immediately transported by this watercolor; it’s like a faded memory, dreamlike and wistful. Editor: It’s certainly atmospheric. What we have here is "A Wooded River Landscape" created around 1839-1840 by Peter De Wint. It resides right here at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the materiality really draws my eye: watercolor and graphite on paper. So much skill in something seemingly simple. Curator: Absolutely. I think it captures something profound about the quiet beauty of the English countryside; it's not grandiose but intimate, like stumbling upon a hidden sanctuary. De Wint manages to convey a sense of serenity in the mundane. Editor: The labor put into creating these images en plein air is striking too. We are viewing not just an image, but the result of someone immersed in that specific time and place. De Wint truly captures his connection with the means and production of this artwork. Curator: He did. There's such an unpretentious, yet sophisticated quality. I can imagine him there, in the dampness, completely absorbed. There's something almost holy about capturing the raw simplicity of a moment. I see that reflected here. Editor: The wash technique is certainly masterful. The transparency of the watercolour medium almost belies how structurally sound the composition actually is, drawing your eyes to the light reflections in the water. You can easily imagine the work put into controlling the pigment, the careful selection of papers, all indicative of the Victorian era in England. Curator: It is that mastery, though, that dissolves the 'work' and invites pure feeling, or maybe that's the romantic in me… Editor: Maybe, or maybe it is simply the consequence of skillful labor in rendering the world accessible through art materials. Curator: Whatever the magic is, this painting is more than ink and pigment and paper, or labor alone; it evokes feelings I did not know I had. Editor: Indeed, and acknowledging both process and response only enrich the work for the viewer.