Moorland landscape (Tree Study) 

William Leighton Leitch made this watercolor painting, Moorland Landscape, sometime in the mid-19th century. It depicts a solitary figure walking along a path in a rural landscape. Leitch was a Scottish landscape painter, associated with the Picturesque movement. This movement became popular as the urban population grew, and there was a desire to reconnect with an idealized rural past. The figure, dwarfed by the trees and the open sky, invites us to reflect on the relationship between humanity and nature. Is this nature a refuge? The painting suggests a nostalgic yearning for a simpler way of life, untouched by the changes of the Industrial Revolution. Leitch's association with the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours also speaks to the institutional context that shaped his career. By looking at the art of the time and visiting archives and libraries, we can reveal the social values and cultural anxieties embedded in this seemingly simple image.