Landscape 16th-17th century

Curator: This is Guercino's "Landscape," a drawing held here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels so fleeting, like a memory glimpsed through sepia-toned glasses. Curator: Guercino, born Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, was a master of the Italian Baroque. Note how he uses the brown ink to create depth. Observe how layers of lines build the rocky hillside and the distant city. The ink mimics the earth it depicts. Editor: And the figures, they are tiny but they are full of life. There is a timeless quality to it; I imagine nomads journeying across an ancient land. Curator: The figures populate the scene, yet they are also dwarfed, prompting thoughts on the relationship between humanity and nature. Editor: I find it strangely comforting. A reminder of the world’s enduring beauty, even when sketched in the simplest of forms.