Landscape, from Deuxieme Cahier de Paysage 1772

Curator: This is Nicolas Pérignon's "Landscape, from Deuxieme Cahier de Paysage," created in 1772. The medium is etching on paper. Editor: My immediate impression is one of calm, rustic simplicity. The composition is beautifully balanced, guiding the eye gently across the landscape. Curator: As a print, an etching specifically, the creation of this landscape would have required considerable material and technical skill. The copper plate itself, the acid resist, the precise timing in the acid bath. Think of the labor involved in each print! And as one of a series, these landscapes were accessible commodities, bringing scenes of rural life to a wider audience, weren't they? Editor: Absolutely. And the use of line is remarkable; it defines form but also creates subtle variations in tone and texture, doesn't it? The way Pérignon uses hatching and cross-hatching, almost a semiotic language to describe light and shadow on the foliage and architecture… Curator: The figures, so small within the expanse, emphasizes the growing urbanization of France during this time. These prints catered to a yearning for the rural idyll. The paper itself, where was it sourced? Was it locally produced, supporting regional economies? Editor: A valuable insight! Returning to the formal aspects, observe how the diagonal lines of the path lead the eye toward the central building. This creates a sense of depth, pulling us into the scene. It is such a clever use of perspective, creating that Neoclassical structure in such a pleasing view. Curator: Neoclassicism and its emphasis on order and control reflected anxieties of an emerging industrial age, don’t you agree? Editor: An interesting viewpoint. This print truly encapsulates the formal restraint and idealized vision characteristic of Neoclassicism, but the scene depicts daily life through very distinct artistic choices. I find myself quite absorbed. Curator: Thinking about the distribution network of prints like these offers fascinating insight into eighteenth-century consumer culture and artistic labor. Editor: Indeed, I am struck once again by the elegance with which Pérignon communicates a whole mood. There’s so much contained within such carefully delineated forms and well chosen compositional harmony.