Waterval van Staubbach 1772 - 1785

Curator: This is "Waterval van Staubbach" a print created with etching and tempera between 1772 and 1785, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. What is your immediate reaction? Editor: The image immediately conveys a sense of isolation and powerlessness. The small trees and rocky outcropping in the foreground give a real sense of being overwhelmed by the sublime natural architecture here. Curator: Indeed. Structurally, observe how the artist manipulates perspective. The sharp verticality of the waterfall contrasts dramatically with the horizontal layering of the landscape, creating a visual tension that holds the eye. Editor: I see it too! This sublime ideal was not available for everyone at this moment. I think of how landscapes like this were largely represented from the male gaze and for aristocratic or bourgeois travelers seeking the romantic picturesque... How did such an aesthetic diminish the relationship with land for those living nearby? Curator: A vital question. Looking at the interplay of light and shadow, one notices the modulation achieved through the etching. It models forms and creates a sense of depth, adding an almost dreamlike ethereal quality which I feel adds to its romanticism, no? Editor: I think so! We see artists across Europe beginning to engage in more individualized landscape paintings. What's so exciting is seeing how Janinet uses the etching and print mediums to circulate this image to a wider audience, beyond the canvas or oil that can only hang in a noble or aristocratic home. Curator: It is quite skillfully wrought for wide distribution, wouldn't you agree? The use of tempera subtly enhances the color palette, enriching the details, if just slightly. The artist's conscious material choices contribute to a viewing experience that straddles the sublime and the tangible. Editor: Absolutely. Seeing Staubbach through today's lenses provokes contemplation on our current environmental and colonial impact—but it is worthwhile to consider what stories and silences endure across eras. Curator: Indeed, a visual record offering ever-changing reflections. Editor: Exactly. The past speaking, even if subtly, to the present.