Back of the New Mills, Norfolk 1817

Editor: This is John Crome's "Back of the New Mills, Norfolk" from 1817, an oil painting depicting a riverside scene. It strikes me how…earthy it feels, grounded. What do you see in it? Curator: I'm immediately drawn to the materiality. Look at the way Crome builds up the paint, almost like brickwork mirroring the buildings themselves. It's a testament to labor – both in the scene, perhaps involving milling or transport, and in the act of painting itself. How does the layering of pigment itself become a statement about physical processes? Editor: That's interesting, I hadn’t thought of that connection. Do you think the everyday subject matter, the backs of buildings instead of grand facades, is significant too? Curator: Absolutely. It shifts the focus away from idealized landscapes and toward the real, working environment. The "back" is also important—a zone of working-class labour as well as an industrial one. Crome is presenting the means of production itself, rather than the idyllic product, isn’t he? How might contemporary viewers have understood this in the context of England's industrial growth? Editor: So he's kind of demystifying the romantic landscape, bringing attention to the physical reality and even the labor involved in creating wealth? Curator: Precisely. Think of the pigments themselves – where did they come from? Who ground them? The entire history of materiality is bound up in this one seemingly simple painting. It connects to land use, economics, the embodied experience of labour. How does that shift your interpretation? Editor: I see it now as less about nature and more about how society interacts with nature, and the impact of that interaction – really powerful. Thanks for pointing that out! Curator: My pleasure! It's easy to get lost in aesthetic appreciation, but digging into the "how" and "why" of the object gives a much fuller picture.