Crossing the River Alice c. 18th century

Editor: This is "Crossing the River Alice" by Joseph de Longueil. It's a small print, but it captures this epic landscape with a group of people on horseback fording a river. What do you make of it? Curator: It reminds me of a stage set, doesn't it? Grand, but slightly artificial. The figures seem like afterthoughts amidst the theatrical mountains. It's as if de Longueil is inviting us to imagine our own dramas within this wild landscape. What feelings arise for you? Editor: I see what you mean. It's romantic, maybe even a little bit sublime, but the figures definitely feel staged. This was a great find; I had no idea such detailed landscape prints existed! Curator: Exactly! It's about the *idea* of nature, filtered through the lens of human experience. Art reveals as much about us as it does the subject.