Landscape with Rocks and Water 

Editor: So, here's Alexander Cozens' "Landscape with Rocks and Water." It's a small ink drawing. It feels… almost like a stage set, very deliberately composed. What do you see in its presentation? Curator: It's interesting you say 'stage set'. Cozens' landscapes, particularly these ink wash drawings, were often used as teaching tools. He aimed to classify landscape elements for artists, in a very academic way. How might the notion of classification shape our understanding of landscape art's public role in that period? Editor: That's fascinating. So, it's not just about capturing beauty, but about categorizing and controlling nature through art? Curator: Precisely. And think about the socio-political context: Britain was expanding its empire, mapping and classifying new territories. Cozens' work echoes that impulse to order and understand the world through a visual lens. I wonder how the public viewed these artistic landscapes in relation to the real ones they had access to? Editor: It gives me a lot to think about! Curator: Indeed, it shows how art is always intertwined with broader societal structures and power dynamics.