Waterfall in a Desolate Landscape 

John Sell Cotman created "Waterfall in a Desolate Landscape" with watercolor, a medium that allows for both delicacy and drama, reflecting the sublime qualities sought after during the Romantic era. Cotman lived through a period of immense social and economic change. His landscapes weren’t just about pretty scenery; they reflected the anxieties and transformations of British society. This piece isn't just a waterfall, but a symbolic space. The desolation could speak to the period's unease with industrialization, the shift from rural to urban life, and the displacement and alienation that came with it. The sublime was often linked to ideas of masculine power and control, yet it was also a space where artists could express a vulnerability, where the individual is dwarfed by the scale of nature. Consider how Cotman uses the watercolor to create a mood, to evoke a sense of both awe and solitude. Cotman uses the natural world to mirror internal emotional states, so consider how this landscape might also be a portrait of the artist's own feelings of isolation.