Buildings, Assouan 1896

Editor: So, this is Robert David Gauley's "Buildings, Assouan." The brushstrokes give it a dreamy, almost hazy feel. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It's tempting to see this as just a landscape, but I think we need to consider Gauley's position as a Western artist depicting a place loaded with colonial history. How does his gaze, as an outsider, influence our perception of Assouan? Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way. It does feel… romanticized. Curator: Exactly. And that romanticism can obscure the realities of life in Assouan at the time. Who is absent from this picture, and why? These are critical questions we must ask when engaging with art that depicts other cultures. Editor: That’s a really powerful point. I’ll definitely look at art with a more critical eye now. Curator: I hope that considering the context of its production deepens your understanding.