The Waveney c. 1832 - 1834

Editor: Here we have "The Waveney," an etching with drypoint by Thomas Lound, dating from around 1832 to 1834. It's a peaceful waterside scene. What stands out to you? Curator: What fascinates me about "The Waveney" is its demonstration of industrial aesthetics taking hold. Look closely at Lound's etching and drypoint techniques; the labor invested, creating subtle variations in tone, imitates atmospheric conditions and therefore renders them marketable. Editor: Marketable atmospheric conditions? Curator: Indeed. Etchings such as this democratized access to landscape imagery. While the landed gentry once commissioned vast oil paintings celebrating ownership and leisure, industrial innovations, in printmaking, expanded possibilities. Lound reproduced his immediate environment. In turn, these prints become consumer objects—replicas traded and displayed in ordinary homes. Note that labor is further stratified in these printing processes; the printing, distributing, and retailing all create social roles and imbue value. Editor: So, the material processes changed not just who could make art but who could own it? Curator: Precisely! Etching allowed for greater detail and tonal range compared to earlier printmaking techniques, yet still needed specialist training and tools to complete. Consider too the increased trade stimulated by such views – new commodities moved along these very waterways. How might the value assigned to "The Waveney" relate to economic transformations shaping England at this moment? Editor: That gives me a new appreciation for how even a simple landscape involves layers of social and economic history. It’s not just a pretty picture. Curator: And appreciating that history is impossible without acknowledging the materials, tools, and labor required to create it. I've learned a new way of viewing landscape, thank you.