Landscape Composition [recto] 

John Varley created this watercolor painting called “Landscape Composition” sometime between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Varley, an Englishman, was part of a generation grappling with the rise of industrialization and its impact on the natural world. Here, we see Varley’s attempt to capture the sublime, but through a very particular lens. Unlike some of his contemporaries, who depicted idealized pastoral scenes, Varley presents us with a landscape that feels almost ghostly. The muted tones and blurred forms evoke a sense of melancholy. Think about the emotional weight of this choice. Was he reflecting the anxieties of a society undergoing rapid transformation, or perhaps a more personal sense of loss? Varley seems to be asking us to consider the relationship between human experience and the environment, to acknowledge the feelings that nature evokes, and to question our place within it.