Framlingham Castle, Suffolk c. 1797

Editor: This is Thomas Girtin's "Framlingham Castle, Suffolk," held at the Tate. It's just a quick sketch, but the monumentality of the castle still comes across. What's striking to you about it? Curator: The rapid execution, the visible process, highlights the inherent labor in representing power structures. Girtin isn’t just depicting a castle; he’s showing us the means by which it is visualized, commodified. What was the social function of landscape art at this time? Editor: To connect the rising middle class to the land, right? Curator: Exactly. And how does Girtin's technique, his very hand, mediate that connection? It prompts us to consider the economics of artistic production itself. Editor: So, even a sketch like this is part of a larger system of value and representation. I hadn't thought of it that way.