Landscape with Trees 1800

Curator: This is Daniel Turner's Landscape with Trees, a watercolor piece held in the Tate Collections. Editor: Mmm, a muted dreamscape. I find it calming, like a memory half-faded, the trees framing an unseen path. Curator: Turner was working in a period where landscape painting was gaining importance, reflecting changing social attitudes toward nature and the picturesque. Editor: I get a sense of almost a somber beauty, though. The figures down the path seem small, almost like they’re being swallowed up by the landscape. It’s quite dramatic, don't you think? Curator: The dramatic tone is interesting in terms of art production. Turner probably was attempting to imbue the landscape with a sense of sublime grandeur. Editor: It really does that. Makes you want to just wander into that scene, even though you know something unknown awaits. Gives you the sense of romantic danger. Curator: Exactly. This piece shows how landscapes were constructed and interpreted in his time. Editor: Yes, a romantic view for sure. I can imagine wanting this hanging in my house.