Rio del Erbe, Venice 1885

Editor: This is Andrew Fisher Bunner's "Rio del Erbe, Venice," created in 1885, using pen and ink. It feels so intimate, like a stolen moment in a hidden part of the city. What strikes you when you look at this drawing? Curator: Oh, the delicious intimacy! It's as if Bunner handed us his secret map to Venice. For me, it is Bunner, yes, documenting the architecture, but almost like he is feeling the texture of the stone. Look how he renders the light! The ink breathes; it almost shimmers. I wonder, did he stop for a cappuccino at a nearby café, capturing impressions as much as reality? The choice of ink is remarkable, too. It lends this quality that feels timeless, doesn’t it? Editor: Absolutely. It transcends a mere architectural sketch, leaning towards impressionism somehow. Do you think the limited color palette adds to that feeling? Curator: The absence of color is powerful here. It lets our minds fill in the details, engaging our senses. And yet, the heavy linework almost renders a specific kind of sound... quiet lapping. Editor: It’s amazing how much detail he captured with what seems like so little. I imagine it’s so very difficult to travel and sketch in the 19th century. Curator: Precisely. One has to think: Was this an on-site quick sketch or something constructed later in the studio? It is hard to know, isn't it? The man has gifted us a gorgeous puzzle. I find myself thinking less about art history, and just wandering along that canal. Don’t you? Editor: I do. The art feels effortless, while transporting me into a beautiful, imagined memory. Curator: Memory is everything. Perhaps all art is an artifact of the past as we want it to be.