Rotsblokken en struiken op de Sint Pietersberg c. 1859

Editor: We’re looking at “Rotsblokken en struiken op de Sint Pietersberg,” or "Boulders and Bushes on the St. Pietersberg," an etching by Alexander Schaepkens, from around 1859. It has a rather somber mood, despite depicting nature. I wonder how we should interpret this... what do you see? Curator: I see a work deeply embedded in the 19th-century’s shifting relationship with nature, and, specifically, the rise of Romanticism's interest in ruins and the sublime. Here, the "boulders and bushes" aren’t just elements of a pretty landscape. Consider the social context: industrialization was rapidly transforming the landscape, leading to anxieties about loss of nature. Doesn't this print embody that tension—a desire to capture a disappearing "natural" world? The rocky formations themselves, are they being presented almost as monuments or tombstones? Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered. The industrial revolution impacted art even back then! Now the etching looks more like a historical commentary. But how does Schaepkens' choice of printmaking affect this? Curator: Exactly! Etching allowed for detailed line work and tonal gradations, ideal for capturing textures of the rocks and foliage. The print medium makes the artwork accessible for broader audiences, contributing to discussions on nature conservation. Whose access were facilitated and whose denied and what effect did that have on public perception of nature? Were the rising bourgeoisies implicated somehow, do you think? Editor: This has made me view what seemed like a simple landscape as a complex social commentary, thank you! Curator: And for me, this was a vital reminder that we can read environmental history and cultural identity into landscape art!