Chigi Park c. 19th century

Curator: This is Johann Wilhelm Schirmer’s "Chigi Park," housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels... overwhelmingly romantic. Like a stage set for a Brothers Grimm fairytale. Curator: Indeed. Schirmer, influenced by Romanticism, often explored idealized landscapes. Consider the composition; it centers on a harmonious relationship between humanity, seen in the background figure, and nature. Editor: The deer are beautiful, icons of a wilder, more innocent world. But the density of the trees almost feels suffocating, like nature is encroaching. Curator: Perhaps that reflects anxieties of the time, with rapid industrialization changing landscapes and society’s relationship to the natural world. Editor: Hmm, I still feel a sense of peace. As if nature is just reclaiming what it lost. Curator: It’s interesting how the piece evokes such different, complex emotional responses, even today. Editor: Ultimately, I think this speaks to the power of art—its ability to hold multiple truths, simultaneously.