View of Hawes-Water, in Westmoreland c. 18th century

Curator: Jean-Baptiste-Claude Chatelain gives us this bucolic scene, "View of Hawes-Water, in Westmoreland." Editor: It’s funny, the landscape feels vast, but those little figures in the boat seem strangely detached, like symbols themselves floating in the scene. Curator: Well, water often represents the unconscious, the flowing currents of our inner lives. The boat, then, becomes a vessel carrying these archetypal passengers through that inner space. Editor: I suppose so. To me, though, the way they're composed feels more like a decorative element, like something you'd find printed on wallpaper. Curator: Maybe it’s the artist reminding us of the beauty—and maybe the alienation—of idealized landscapes. Editor: It certainly does ask us to reflect on what we project onto nature. Curator: Yes, the piece leaves you thinking about both the real and the imagined.