Peasants Tending Goats c. 18th century

Curator: This is "Peasants Tending Goats," a piece created by James Smith, who lived from 1653 to 1793. I find the entire scene so wonderfully quaint. Editor: I'm struck by the density of the engraving. Look at how Smith uses such fine lines to create a world, a sense of texture. The goats almost disappear into the hillside. Curator: It's a bucolic fantasy, really. The peasants, the goats, that impossibly picturesque tree growing from the rock... It feels like a dream of simpler times. Editor: Simple, perhaps, but also built. Notice how the artist highlights the labor—the people and animals working on the land, shaping the landscape. Even the "natural" tree seems carefully placed. Curator: Ah, yes, but isn't all artifice a kind of truth? Smith gives us a reflection on the rural experience, however idealized. A whisper of what life might have been... or could be. Editor: And the means to create such a whisper…all those meticulously etched lines. Reflecting on the work it takes to produce an image of ease, makes me appreciate the piece all the more.