Landscape with Building over Water, Mayrhofen, Austria 1871

Editor: This is John Singer Sargent's "Landscape with Building over Water, Mayrhofen, Austria," a pencil sketch. The building seems almost precarious, nestled in the rock. What statements do you think Sargent is making with this piece? Curator: I see a challenge to the romanticized vision of nature often presented. Sargent, an American expatriate, sketches not an untouched wilderness, but a landscape already shaped and arguably constrained by human presence. How does this impact your understanding of the sublime? Editor: So, it’s not simply about capturing beauty, but acknowledging our impact? I hadn’t considered it that way. Curator: Exactly. The drawing invites us to question the nature of progress and its effect on our environment, even in a place as seemingly remote as Mayrhofen. It offers a critical perspective. Editor: I see the social commentary now! Thank you.