Landscape c. 20th century

Curator: This is Alfred Médard Sidler's "Landscape," currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums. Look at the stark charcoal lines composing the scene. It really emphasizes the bareness of the trees. Editor: It does give a somber feeling, almost desolate. I’m drawn to the texture though; you can really see the grain of the paper coming through the charcoal. Curator: Yes, the material choice seems key. Charcoal lends itself to a certain roughness, mirroring, perhaps, a commentary on the industrial expansion of the time, or the very physicality of working the land. Editor: I wonder if the artist intended a contrast between the hard, industrial lines and the softer, blurred background, hinting at society's encroachment on nature? Curator: It's definitely a work that makes you think about how we shape, and are shaped by, our environment. Editor: Indeed, a powerful piece open to various interpretations.