Richmond, Yorkshire c. 19th century

Editor: This is "Richmond, Yorkshire" by James Tibbits Willmore. It's an engraving and the landscape feels very vast, almost overpowering. What social dynamics might be at play in how this landscape is portrayed? Curator: The very concept of landscape, especially in 19th-century Britain, is deeply intertwined with power. Who owns this land? Who profits from it? How does the representation of nature obscure the labor and social relations embedded within it? Consider the figures in the foreground; are they romanticized, or do they hint at the inequalities inherent in this pastoral scene? Editor: That’s a powerful way to look at it. I was focused on the picturesque view, but I see now how that view can mask underlying power structures. Curator: Exactly. Art can both reflect and critique the social realities of its time. Always question whose story is being told, and whose is being left out.