Country Scene, with Travellers 

Editor: Here we have John Inigo Richards' "Country Scene, with Travellers". It's a small support with dimensions 148 x 194 mm, and the figures seem almost incidental to the landscape. What symbols or meanings do you see in this piece? Curator: Note how the path leads the eye, but also the travelers. They are small, yes, but on a journey. What does that journey mean? The cottage, a shelter at the end of that path, a symbol of home and belonging. Do you think that shelter is attainable for these travellers? Editor: The shelter is certainly a contrast to the wilder landscape. Perhaps it represents hope? Curator: Precisely! The landscape, nature's raw power, versus the constructed home. Richards is playing with the tension, and the promise of civilization, of domesticity, within untamed nature. Editor: That’s a fascinating contrast. I hadn't considered it that way. Curator: Consider how the symbols resonate, even today. I'm glad we could explore this landscape of meaning together.