Landschap met bomen 1673 - 1695

Editor: This is "Landschap met bomen," or "Landscape with Trees," an engraving by Nicolas Perelle, dating from between 1673 and 1695. The scene feels serene, even melancholic, with the delicate lines creating a textured world of leaves and clouds. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Immediately, I’m drawn to consider what constitutes “landscape” at this moment in history, and who gets to participate in its representation. Consider how often these idealized landscapes actively erase the laboring bodies – especially women and people of color – whose exploitation makes such idyllic scenes possible. How does Perelle's work, specifically as a print available for wider distribution, shape ideas about land ownership and access during an era of burgeoning colonialism? Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered! So, are you suggesting the seeming innocence of this landscape might conceal a more complex narrative of power and exclusion? Curator: Precisely! This image exists within a context of land enclosure and expanding French colonial ambitions. Look closely at the ownership signature and consider who can and cannot afford such imagery. What function might such an image serve? Editor: Perhaps it reinforces a sense of dominion over nature and, by extension, over those who are perceived as being closer to it? Curator: Exactly! And let’s also not ignore the artistic conventions. How does the artist deploy the existing landscape genre, and to what end? Editor: I see how examining art through the lens of history and social structures can reveal hidden dimensions. Curator: Indeed! It encourages us to question whose stories are being told and, crucially, whose are being left out. Art doesn't exist in a vacuum, does it?