Gezicht vanaf het amfitheater op de dierentuin, te Kleef 1802 - 1861

Editor: This is "Gezicht vanaf het amfitheater op de dierentuin, te Kleef," an etching dating from between 1802 and 1861, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. It has a wistful quality with a large format and atmospheric details. What aspects of this etching stand out to you most? Curator: Immediately striking is the meticulous articulation of space, crafted by Jobard's strategic employment of perspective. Notice how the composition leads the eye: starting with the carefully delineated foreground figures, moving through the water and trees, towards the receding structures in the distance. What is achieved by the interplay between the sharp detail in the front, compared with the gentle rendering further back? Editor: It does feel as though the blurring towards the horizon increases the depth, right? I notice, too, the dramatic, theatrical framing provided by the dark, prominent trees on the right. Curator: Precisely. These 'repoussoir' elements intensify the perspectival effect. Let us examine how Jobard manipulates the tonal scale achievable through etching. He moves the image forward with the strategic darkness and draws back the less significant passages in light airy tones. Is Jobard providing us simply with a landscape, or is there a specific statement being made about this Zoo at Kleef through pictorial means? Editor: Maybe the artist focuses on orderliness and control. Everything feels curated, like the architecture complements the landscape. Curator: Indeed. It would seem the artificial tameness of the landscape contrasts with the untamed nature, presenting a curated picturesque ideal of man and the natural world. How fascinating the contrast, no? Editor: Absolutely. I will never look at a landscape etching in the same way again!