Summer(?) 1768

Curator: This print, delicately etched by Charles Michel Campion around 1768, is titled “Summer(?)”. It currently resides here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: The question mark in the title tickles me, instantly making me wonder why the artist seemed unsure. The oval frame itself, adorned with what look like overflowing fountains and bundled wheat, presents an idealized view of agrarian life, but there’s a distinct coolness to it. Curator: It’s a scene seemingly plucked from the French countryside, but observed with an almost detached precision. Consider the placement of the windmill against the sky, like a giant clock announcing it’s time to grind some wheat. Editor: It reads to me like a comment on labor—I find my attention drawn to the figure on horseback juxtaposed against the laborers bent over in the field. The very design suggests an economic hierarchy in rural life. Do you see something similar? Curator: Well, beyond that hierarchy, the work evokes a feeling of serenity. Perhaps it is the detail and small size of this work but I like that you could fit an entire day in the landscape on this sheet of paper. Editor: While serene on the surface, that kind of curated "calm" always makes me question whose peace is being prioritized, especially during that historical moment in Europe. The very structure mirrors a very structured and imbalanced society. It gives one something to think about, indeed! Curator: This close reading allows us to consider landscape depictions in a new light, examining more than just the subject, which in this case appears to be more than just fields and windmills! Editor: Indeed, let us carry this dialogue with us and seek to observe beyond surfaces wherever we go.