Path Beside Water c. 19th century

Editor: This is Adolphe Appian's "Path Beside Water." I'm struck by the lone figure walking into the landscape. It feels like they're almost disappearing into the scene. What is your take on this piece? Curator: Appian was working during a time of great social change and industrial growth. These increasingly blurred the lines between the rural and the urban. Does this work suggest an escape from encroaching modernity, or a melancholic reflection on its inevitability? Editor: That's a great point. I hadn't considered it in that context, but it makes me see the image in a whole new light. Curator: I agree, the figure's journey can have different meanings in the context of modernity. We bring ourselves and our time with us as we look at art.