Dimensions: support: 216 x 305 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: So, this is Edward Lear's watercolour, 'The Capitol, from the Forum'. It's a lovely little sketch, capturing Rome with such light and airy strokes. It feels really immediate, almost like a travel journal entry. What stands out to you? Curator: The image reflects the 19th century's fascination with antiquity. Lear, like many artists, presented Rome as both a historical site and a contemporary city. How do you think the quick sketch aesthetic affects our perception of that relationship? Editor: That's a great question! It definitely makes it feel more accessible, less like a distant, idealized past. Curator: Exactly! It's not just about historical accuracy, but also about the artist’s personal experience and how that gets communicated and then, inevitably, received by the public. Editor: I see what you mean; the accessibility of the work makes me feel that I could visit that exact location. Curator: And the work as a commodity, allows that experience to be shared and desired by others. Editor: That is so true! I never thought about how the format, or the artist's approach, could influence the social impact so profoundly. Curator: Indeed, it's about how art mediates our understanding of history and place.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lear-the-capitol-from-the-forum-n02748
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Edward Lear was perhaps the last of the great topographers. He called his watercolours and oils his ‘topographies’. Between trips Lear lived mostly in Italy, and spent his last seventeen years on the Riviera at San Remo, where he died. He wrote from Rome to his sister Ann, in May 1838, around the time this work was painted: ‘every now and then you see bits of ancient villas – all that is left of once vast buildings – now only a few arches with the curious Roman brick work – covered with large aloes – or roofs of olives.’ Gallery label, August 2004
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