A Landscape with Waterfall, an Artist Sketching in the Foreground 

Editor: This is "A Landscape with Waterfall, an Artist Sketching in the Foreground" by Samuel William Junior Reynolds. I notice this artist within the artwork who is also creating art. How would you interpret the image? Curator: Considering the period Reynolds was active, I see this as participating in a burgeoning culture of landscape appreciation. The act of sketching en plein air, publicly demonstrating artistic skill, was itself a social performance tied to notions of taste and leisure. Editor: So, it's about displaying culture, not just nature? Curator: Precisely. This wasn't simply about representing nature but about asserting a particular social and cultural position through that representation. Editor: That gives me a totally different perspective on the role of landscape art! Curator: It’s about understanding the social and cultural forces that shape artistic production and reception.