Stoke, near Bath n.d.

Joseph Barker's "Stoke, near Bath" is a watercolor and graphite rendering of an English pastoral scene, made sometime around the turn of the 19th century. Barker's landscape offers us a glimpse into the picturesque aesthetic that was so popular at the time. As we look closer, think about who is absent. This scene, though seemingly bucolic, is one that is undeniably shaped by empire and industry, both of which relied on the labor of the working classes. There are figures at the water’s edge, yet Barker’s choice to render them so small and generalized depersonalizes them, rendering them mere elements in the landscape. "Stoke, near Bath" invites us to consider the complex relationships between the land, labor, and identity in this period. The scene encourages us to question whose stories are told and whose are left out of the visual representation of history.