A Swiss Valley 18th-19th century

Curator: This is Edward Goodall’s "A Swiss Valley", a delicate rendering, quite petite at 29 by 15.2 cm. It makes me think about the printmaking processes and the social function of landscape imagery. Editor: Oh, I see a secret world, like a miniature stage. A single glance into a faraway place. Curator: The size emphasizes the availability of art for a rising middle class. It is easily distributed, consumed, and, therefore, democratized. Editor: It almost vanishes! Yet, it holds a quiet stillness. A dream of nature neatly framed and somehow… distant. Curator: It is a fascinating insight into how landscapes were both represented and consumed. Editor: A little window into a vast yearning; the echo of an absent space.