Blue Veil 1958

Editor: We’re looking at “Blue Veil,” a watercolor from 1958 by Morris Louis, currently at the Fogg Museum. It's all these delicate washes of blues and greens. It feels very atmospheric to me, almost like looking at a waterfall through a fog. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Formally, it presents a fascinating interplay between control and chance. The lines, while seemingly fluid and organic, reveal a calculated orchestration of color and form. Notice how the varying densities of pigment create a push and pull across the surface. Do you perceive how the translucency contributes to a flattening of the picture plane? Editor: I do see what you mean. The way the colors bleed into each other creates a sense of depth, but also keeps it all very much on the surface. What do you make of the composition itself, the vertical streaks? Curator: The verticality establishes a rhythm, a structured cadence that guides the eye. Louis is less concerned with representation and more invested in exploring the inherent properties of his chosen medium. Consider the way he thins the paint, allowing it to stain the canvas directly. Editor: So, the process itself is part of the meaning? It’s not just about what it looks like, but how it was made. Curator: Precisely. The painting becomes an index of its own making, a testament to the relationship between artist, material, and process. The surface reveals its material construction, in spite of any representational potential. What would you consider to be its achievement? Editor: I hadn’t thought of it that way before. Now I see it's less about depicting a scene and more about the beauty of paint itself and how it behaves. Curator: Yes. Analyzing its formal components offers significant insights.