In den Dolomiten c. 1870 - 1880

Edward Theodore Compton painted this watercolor of the Dolomites, sometime between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The romantic vision of nature was being challenged at this time by a growing awareness of industrialization. Compton was German-English, from an artistic family, and he spent much of his career painting mountain scenes. The Dolomites, a mountain range in northeastern Italy, became a popular tourist destination during Compton’s lifetime. Tourism changed the social and economic structures of many small mountain villages. In this context, Compton's painting offers us a romantic and perhaps idealized view of nature untouched by human hands, yet it subtly acknowledges the presence of a tourist industry that he relied upon. The two small figures on the path give scale to the immensity of the mountains, but they also tell us that these are spaces that are increasingly being inhabited. By researching the history of tourism and the growth of national parks, we can understand more about the cultural values that shaped this image.