Rouen c. 19th century

Editor: This is Samuel Prout's "Rouen," a delicate cityscape held by the Harvard Art Museums. It's bustling but somehow quiet. What strikes you most about it? Curator: I see a deliberate framing of urban life. Prout romanticizes the medieval city, eliding the grittier realities of industrialization. How does his picturesque vision serve a rising bourgeois class eager for nostalgic views? Editor: So, it's not just a pretty picture, but a commentary on societal values? Curator: Precisely! Consider how this image reinforces ideas about national identity and cultural heritage, especially for those with the means to consume such idyllic representations of the past. Editor: I never thought about it that way. Art can be so much more than what it seems! Curator: Indeed, by questioning whose stories are told and how, we can unearth deeper meanings within these seemingly simple cityscapes.