Procession through a Rustic Gate 1764

Salomon Gessner made this etching, "Procession through a Rustic Gate," sometime in the 18th century. It evokes a sentimental view of rural life, but also speaks to the social and institutional forces that shaped artistic production in Switzerland at the time. Here we see a group of figures passing through a dilapidated gate. The image uses the visual codes of the picturesque: ruins, peasants, and natural scenery are all arranged to elicit a feeling of nostalgia for a simpler past. This idealization of rural life was very popular in the 1700s as Europe underwent rapid urbanization and industrialization. Gessner was part of a circle of artists and intellectuals in Zurich who promoted these ideas. But while seemingly conservative, this was a progressive stance in its own way, as it critiqued the values of the aristocracy and the institutions of the court. To fully understand an artwork like this, we need to research the social and intellectual context in which it was made. The meaning of art is contingent on its social and institutional context.