Sketch for ‘Vision of Ezekiel’ c. 1875

Editor: This is Paul Falconer Poole's 'Sketch for Vision of Ezekiel.' It's a dramatic scene with figures dwarfed by the landscape. What strikes me is how the figures seem to be reacting to something powerful happening in the sky. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see the intersection of faith and social upheaval. Poole lived through a time of massive social change. How might his anxieties and hopes about industrialization and urbanization be projected onto this biblical scene? Are these figures seeking divine intervention in a changing world? Editor: So, the vision isn't just religious, but also reflective of the artist's social context? Curator: Exactly. Poole uses biblical narrative to explore contemporary concerns about power, belief, and societal transformation. It's a dialogue between past and present. Editor: That really changes how I see it. It's less about the divine and more about human struggle. Curator: Precisely. Art often holds a mirror to our own times, even when depicting seemingly distant subjects.