Barnard Castle, Yorkshire, from the West c. 1797

Editor: So, this is Thomas Girtin's "Barnard Castle, Yorkshire, from the West." It's a pencil drawing, and it feels so light and airy, almost like a memory. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see Girtin engaging with the Romantic ideal of the ruin, but also subtly critiquing the power structures they represent. Ruins become picturesque, but whose stories are erased in that process? What voices aren't being heard in this landscape? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn't thought about whose perspective is missing. Curator: Exactly. Consider the communities displaced by these grand structures. How does Girtin’s almost ethereal rendering further romanticize—and perhaps sanitize—this history? Editor: I see what you mean. It gives me a lot to consider. Curator: It's a reminder that landscapes are never neutral; they’re always imbued with power, history, and often, erasure.