Mary’s tree near Cairo 1898

Fritz Hauck made this watercolor painting, titled "Mary's Tree near Cairo", in 1898. Watercolors are an interesting medium. They require a delicate balance of control and chance. The artist applies pigments suspended in water to paper, allowing the fluid dynamics to play a role in the final image. It's a relatively portable method, and lends itself to working en plein air. Here, the transparency of the washes gives the tree a luminous quality, capturing the light and atmosphere of the Egyptian landscape. You can see that Hauck carefully layered the colors to create depth and shadow. But watercolor painting was also a pursuit often associated with leisure. It afforded European artists, like Hauck, the opportunity to depict the exotic, often from a position of privilege. While Hauck displays considerable skill with the medium, it's important to acknowledge that this image is not just a depiction of nature, but also a product of its time.