Lake of Thun, Swiss (Liber Studiorum, part III, plate 15) 1808

Editor: This is "Lake of Thun, Swiss," a print from 1808 by J.M.W. Turner, part of his Liber Studiorum. The sepia tones and dramatic lightning give it a really intense feel. What strikes me is how the figures on the shore are almost dwarfed by the landscape. How do you see this piece? Curator: It's compelling to consider Turner’s engagement with the materials of printmaking itself. Look at the tonal variations achieved through the aquatint process, creating texture, and simulating atmospheric effects. How do the men using rudimentary materials to traverse the terrain represent the material challenges inherent in accessing and exploiting the resources found in the natural world? Editor: I see your point about resources and labor. I was more focused on the aesthetics. Curator: But shouldn’t we also be questioning the social implications? Turner was, in effect, mass-producing these images. The "Liber Studiorum" aimed to disseminate idealized landscapes broadly. Consider the economic implications: he democratized access to the sublime, but simultaneously commodified and perhaps even standardized it. Is the sublime, by way of its new material, changed into something more mercantile? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn’t thought about the printmaking process in that way before – that it changes the whole idea behind landscape art. Curator: Indeed. It pushes us to think about how artistic intentions intersect with material production and its distribution. What do we gain, and what do we lose, when the hand of the artist is mediated through chemical processes and reproductive technologies? Editor: So, seeing it as a commodity changes my perception. I will have to consider production value for every artwork I will see from now on. Curator: Precisely! Considering the material processes involved reveals how profoundly linked artistic expression is to its socio-economic context.