Byprospekt med huse og kirke ved flod. Antikkens Rom 1730 - 1793

Jens Petersen Lund made this view of Rome with pen, ink and watercolor, sometime in the late 18th century. It's rendered with a loose, flowing hand, but in its own way, it evokes the same issues that occupied stonecutters and bricklayers. Watercolors may seem far removed from labor, but here, the artist has chosen to focus on construction, mass, and weight. Note how much attention he gives to the bridges, buildings and the stone embankment. Lund delineates the different buildings in great detail. We see him thinking in three dimensions, carefully mapping out the depths of the buildings. While this wasn't necessarily hard labor, as such, we can still consider Lund’s intellectual labor. He clearly wanted to take the measure of the city. It’s a useful reminder that "work" takes many forms, and that observation is a skill in itself. Next time you pick up a pen or a brush, remember that you are participating in a long tradition of exploration and expression.