Rhodes 1823 - 1824

Curator: Turner's watercolor, "Rhodes," created around 1823-24, invites us to gaze upon a hazy coastal vista. What do you make of it? Editor: A wistful, faded beauty, definitely. It feels dreamlike, almost dissolving before my eyes. The entire city seems crafted from mist and memory, particularly that large tower. But where are the traces of those who quarried stone, mixed mortar, hauled material? Curator: Ah, but it’s watercolor! A medium in itself often associated with lightness, travel, sketching... Turner exploits that reputation, evoking a fleeting impression. He likely created this after his tour through Italy and Greece, so we’re seeing a recollection filtered through time and emotion. Editor: And layers of socio-economic relations. It may look spontaneous, but there are paper costs, pigment production, a network of suppliers. Watercolor manufacture depended on trade routes, extraction industries... this misty city required quite a lot of globalised material networks. How Romantic! Curator: Precisely! It’s not just about recording a place, but imbuing it with feeling. The washes of color blend so seamlessly, it’s almost like the light itself is paint. And isn't there a suggestion of human striving against a powerful, indifferent nature? Those boats braving the waves, the monumental architecture defying gravity. Editor: Well, if you’re feeling romantic, you might see striving, but for me it hints at structures of power—the grand buildings of this civilization built on labour and resources extracted at some cost, definitely unequally distributed. Even the "beauty" we see involved labour I value uncovering. Curator: A fascinating reading! I think, despite the potential readings and layers of global connections we've uncovered, the genius of Turner's vision really is to touch us through color and light. Editor: Yes. Turner reminds us of how materials and processes impact art interpretation; that they shape the viewing experience. A potent reminder in a digital age, of our ongoing relationship to materiality.