Stork and Aqueduct 18th-19th century

Curator: This is "Stork and Aqueduct," an etching by J.M.W. Turner. What strikes you most about it? Editor: The aqueduct receding into hazy light. It suggests a bridge to somewhere almost ethereal. It’s as if Turner's blurring the line between engineering and the sublime. Curator: Absolutely, and Turner was fascinated by how structures interacted with nature. Look at the foreground, how the trees and rocky forms almost embrace the aqueduct. Editor: Yes, the composition is arranged so that the aqueduct seems like a distant prospect against the density of the natural foreground. Curator: It’s a lovely example of Romanticism's search for awe in both the man-made and the natural worlds. Editor: It certainly makes you reflect on the relationship between human ambition and the overwhelming power of nature. Curator: Indeed. There's a feeling of both serenity and grandeur, wouldn’t you agree? Editor: I do, and it's a feeling that stays with you.