Civita Castellana and Mount Soracte, 1852 1852

Russell Smith created "Civita Castellana and Mount Soracte" in 1852 using graphite and white gouache. The composition is dominated by a large aqueduct, its arches marching across the midground, leading the eye towards the distant Mount Soracte. Notice how the artist plays with perspective and scale. The aqueduct seems both monumental and strangely compressed, flattening the space between the foreground figures and the background mountain. This manipulation of depth creates a sense of unease, destabilizing the traditional picturesque landscape. The monochromatic palette further enhances this effect. The limited range of tones transforms the Italian countryside into an almost dreamlike vision. Smith uses the architectural form of the aqueduct as a sign, an almost structuralist device for exploring the relationship between nature and culture, past and present. It invites us to question not just what we see, but how we see, revealing the instability inherent in any attempt to capture or represent a landscape.