St. Maurice c. 19th century

Curator: Robert Wallis's "St. Maurice" whispers a tale of a bridge in a landscape, a sort of memory fading into the paper itself. Editor: It’s stark, almost bleak—the rendering, that is. All those etched lines, the way the artist has deployed engraving and etching techniques to evoke something looming yet distant. Curator: Right? It's as if Wallis is trying to capture not just a place, but the feeling of a place, the way it lingers in your mind. The bridge becomes a metaphor for connection, or perhaps a pathway through the self. Editor: I'm more interested in the labor it represents. The etching process, the copper plate, the acid—all industrial materials shaping an image of nature. Is it a celebration of industry’s potential, or a meditation on its impact? Curator: Maybe both, existing in the same moment. It's that tension, that push and pull between the natural and the constructed, that makes it so captivating. Editor: Well, it definitely gives us something to think about, a real conversation between technique and subject. Curator: Absolutely. It is a glimpse into the layered dialogues that art can hold.