Our Young Folks, Vol. III, Nos. I-XII 1867

This engraving comes from an unbound volume of *Our Young Folks*, published by Ticknor and Fields. Note how the composition directs our gaze, funnelling us from the figures in the foreground, their forms rendered with a tactile precision, into a hazier, more sketch-like background. The texture of the wood-engraved lines creates a scene of a somewhat austere landscape. There is a starkness, but the artist uses this to draw attention to the details. Look at the patterns and shading to define the figures, contrasting with the thinner lines used for the distant trees. The lines create a unified, interwoven structure that locks us into a space where the clarity of form and figure becomes an invitation to reflect on form itself. Consider, also, the way the artist challenges a fixed meaning, how the work reflects an engagement with our perception. There is a new way of thinking about space, power and representation. Here we find an invitation to look, to consider, and to reconsider.