Strada Nomentana 

Curator: This is Richard Wilson's "Strada Nomentana." Wilson, born in 1712, captured this Italian landscape with delicate graphite on paper. Editor: It feels so quiet, doesn't it? Like a whisper from the past. The ruins are really haunting against that hazy background. Curator: Precisely! Wilson often employed ruins as symbols of the past greatness, inviting reflection on the transience of human endeavor and the enduring power of nature. Editor: And the people almost blend in; the ox is like a link between them and the land. Maybe they are the ruins, we’re the ruins, we’re all just passing through. Curator: Indeed, the figures humanize the scene, but also emphasize the scale and timelessness of the landscape and its history. They become part of the landscape. Editor: Wilson just grabs what is essential. A few lines, and boom, we're contemplating all of history! Curator: The simplicity and the quietness are where we find the painting's impact. Editor: I agree; it makes you want to breathe deep and just… be.