Rider in the Mountains 1866

Rodolphe Bresdin made "Rider in the Mountains", a black and white print, with an etching needle and scraper in the 19th century. Bresdin was working in a France that had undergone a series of revolutions, and this print presents the viewer with a landscape as a space in turmoil, and an identity of the wanderer. Look closely at the figures. They are not centered, but rather exist on the periphery, seemingly dwarfed by the landscape itself. Bresdin, who identified as a bohemian, would likely have seen himself as an outsider. Here, the artist seems to be questioning traditional heroic narratives, perhaps commenting on the socio-political upheavals of his time. Bresdin once stated that he wanted to create art that was “bizarre." Consider how the rough, almost chaotic, lines add to the emotional depth of the piece. "Rider in the Mountains" prompts us to consider what it means to exist on the margins and whether there is such a thing as truly conquering nature.