Man with a Dog c. 1775

Editor: Francis Wheatley's "Man with a Dog" presents a gentleman in nature, seemingly pausing from punting. What strikes me is the sheer volume of dark fabric and the texture of the foliage. What can you tell me about Wheatley's process or the context of materials used here? Curator: The materials themselves speak volumes. Notice the contrast between the gentleman’s finely woven coat and the roughly rendered trees. It emphasizes social status through material consumption. The relative cost of the pigments would also have made this an expensive painting, reflecting the patronage system. Editor: That makes sense. The labor involved in the cloth production compared to that of the pigment gathering definitely sets up a hierarchy. I hadn't considered the pigment cost. Curator: Precisely. And reflect on the social context of that labor. Wheatley used his art to reflect societal structures. Did he also, perhaps, critique it?