Robed in a Garment of Untrodden Snow 1888

W.C. Bauer created this work – Robed in a Garment of Untrodden Snow – using etching, drypoint and aquatint. Bauer lived and worked during a period when rapid industrialization and urbanization were altering both the physical landscape and social structures. Images of untouched nature became particularly resonant as symbols of purity and escape. The title itself evokes a sense of pristine, untouched beauty, suggesting an idealized view of the natural world, free from human interference. However, the artist’s choice of medium – the graphic arts – meant that it was more widely available to the middle classes than painting, thus democratizing access to art. Bauer complicates the established hierarchies of class at the time. The image, with its meticulous detail and quiet stillness, invites reflection on our relationship with the environment, and it encourages us to consider the emotional and cultural significance we assign to landscapes.