Cloud on Mountain Top, Orizaba, Mexico 1891

Editor: Here we have Denman Waldo Ross's "Cloud on Mountain Top, Orizaba, Mexico," a watercolor piece. I'm immediately drawn to the textures—the rough paper seems integral to the mountain's imposing presence. What can you tell me about the choices of materials here? Curator: The use of watercolor invites a focus on process. Consider the availability and affordability of watercolor paints versus oils in the early 20th century. Was Ross responding to limitations or making a conscious choice to explore the materiality of a readily accessible medium? What implications arise from that choice? Editor: So, the accessibility of the materials speaks to a broader cultural or economic context, potentially affecting the types of subjects artists could depict? Curator: Precisely. It prompts us to look beyond the surface beauty of the landscape and ask what the very means of production reveal about the artist's position and the scene portrayed. Editor: I hadn't thought of it that way; it makes me want to research the socio-economic conditions influencing artistic choices of that period. Curator: Indeed, art's materiality often has a lot to say about its making, distribution, and consumption.