Sub Tegmine 1859

Sir Francis Seymour Haden created this etching, "Sub Tegmine," in 1879, capturing a scene in Greenwich Park. Haden, a surgeon by profession, was also a prominent figure in the etching revival, advocating for etching as an original art form. Here, Haden uses the etching needle to explore light and shadow under the cover of trees, or "sub tegmine" in Latin. But this isn't just a study of light; it's a carefully constructed vision of leisure. In the Victorian era, access to such pastoral scenes was often determined by class, with parks like Greenwich serving as spaces where social hierarchies were both reinforced and, perhaps, momentarily dissolved. There is a tension in the image, a dance between the desire for a return to nature and the social realities that shape our experience of it. It evokes a sense of longing for a simpler, more authentic existence, even as it acknowledges the complex social structures that govern access to such experiences.