Dimensions: support: 448 x 570 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: This is Alexander Cozens’ "Mountainous Landscape with Cypresses." It's held at the Tate Collections, and I find the sepia tones quite somber. What visual symbols do you see at play here, imbuing it with meaning? Curator: Notice how Cozens uses the cypresses, traditionally symbols of mourning and remembrance, juxtaposed against the imposing, timeless mountains. Does that tension between mortality and permanence resonate with you? Editor: It does, especially how the cypresses seem dwarfed. Curator: Indeed. They are cultural markers, aren't they, reminding us of our place within a larger, enduring narrative. It makes you wonder about the stories embedded in landscapes. Editor: Absolutely. Thanks, I will definitely view landscapes differently now.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/cozens-mountainous-landscape-with-cypresses-t08240
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This is one of the largest and most elaborate of all Cozens's drawings. It is similar to the finished landscapes illustrated in 'A New Method', and like them was probably worked up from a blot.To make a finished landscape, a sheet of tracing paper was first attached to the selected blot, and the outlines of the general composition indicated, together with any figures or animals which where to be added. These were presumably then transferred to a larger sheet of paper, and the sketch was then made with the brush in diluted drawing ink. More specific details were introduced, such as water, rocks or trees, and a 'a sky proper to the landscape'. The composition was then finished, paying particular attention to aerial perspective. Gallery label, September 2004
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