Cascatella superiore a Tivoli (The upper falls at Tivoli) 1796

Curator: This is Albert Christoph Dies' "Cascatella superiore a Tivoli," now residing at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s remarkably serene. The composition, the way the falls cut through the landscape—there’s a real sense of Romantic sublimity. Curator: Absolutely, but also consider Tivoli's significance as a destination for the Grand Tour. The cascade was a site of artistic and intellectual pilgrimage. Editor: The engraving technique really captures the texture of the rock and water, wouldn’t you say? Almost photographic in its detail. Curator: Yet this idealization of nature also obscures the harsh realities of landscape exploitation and social stratification in that era. Editor: A tension, then, between formal beauty and historical context. Curator: Precisely, it invites us to reflect on how landscape art perpetuates certain power dynamics. Editor: Thinking about the engraving process really illuminates Dies' masterful use of line and tone. Curator: And thinking about its creation through the lens of cultural power lets us better understand the art's influence.