Dimensions: support: 311 x 521 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: So, this is John Varley's "View of Bodenham and the Malvern Hills, Herefordshire," a watercolor piece. I find the subdued palette quite calming. What social factors might have influenced Varley's depiction of this landscape? Curator: Consider the Romantic era's fascination with nature and the picturesque. How did images like this reinforce ideas about British identity and land ownership amongst the emerging middle class? Editor: So, it's more than just a pretty landscape? Curator: Exactly! It reflects a specific cultural gaze, idealizing rural life, and perhaps obscuring the realities of agricultural labor and social hierarchy. What do you think this image did for Varley's patrons? Editor: I see it now! It's about more than just the view; it's about power and how it was visualized. Curator: Precisely. It highlights how art becomes a vehicle for shaping perception and reinforcing societal structures.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/varley-view-of-bodenham-and-the-malvern-hills-herefordshire-t01024
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Varley was of the same generation as Girtin and Turner, and shared their innovative approach to the techniques and subject matter of watercolour painting. Here, though, he seems to be looking back to the traditions of panoramic views of particular places, especially the work of Thomas Hearne. Varley would have seen Hearne’s watercolours in the collection of Dr Thomas Monro, a physician and art enthusiast who had an important role to play in encouraging experimentation among younger watercolour painters. Gallery label, September 2004
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