Dimensions: support: 310 x 212 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: So, this is Francis Towne's "The Source of the Arveyron," from the Tate Collections. It’s quite striking; the cool tones give it a somewhat detached, almost sublime feel. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Towne was part of a wave of artists engaging with landscape in new ways. Consider the politics of the picturesque, how artists visually tamed and framed nature for a consuming public. How might the sublime, as represented here, function within that framework? Editor: So it's not just about appreciating nature, but about controlling its image? Curator: Precisely. These images served to reinforce certain ideas about the relationship between humanity and the natural world. It's less about the Arveyron, and more about the viewers' experience of the painting. Editor: That definitely gives me a new perspective on it! Curator: It’s all about considering the context, isn't it?
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/towne-the-source-of-the-arveyron-t08147
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The river Arveyron is a short tributary of the river Arvea and rises from the base of the Glacier des Bois in Chamonix. In this watercolour, Towne virtually disregards traditional perspective, and gives an almost abstract vision of the landscape. Swiss subjects had already been treated by a few English artists before Towne's own visit to the Alps in 1781. Towne was, however, the first artist to emphasise the visionary grandeur of the landscape at the expense of artistic convention. Gallery label, September 2004
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