The Manor House, York 1811

Curator: John Sell Cotman's etching, "The Manor House, York," presents a starkly beautiful ruin. What strikes you first about it? Editor: The way it feels like a stage set, a bit gothic, melancholy. That figure walking through looks almost like an actor. Curator: The etching technique—those dense, cross-hatched lines—creates a palpable sense of decay and the sublime. Note the heraldic details above the arch. Editor: Right, as if the grandeur is being overtaken. It's like time itself is another character here, erasing history. Curator: Precisely. Cotman’s composition directs our eye through that archway, suggesting narratives beyond the immediate scene. Editor: Yeah, stories whispered on the wind, I reckon. A clever piece, hinting at more than it shows. Curator: A perfect encapsulation of romantic ruin and the picturesque. Editor: Certainly, gives you a bit of a shiver, doesn't it? A good shiver, mind you.