Wooded Landscape with Riders 1797

This is "Wooded Landscape with Riders," a black and white etching by Thomas Gainsborough, made sometime in the late eighteenth century. Gainsborough was renowned for his portraits of the British elite but often expressed a greater passion for landscape art, once stating, "I’m sick of portraits and wish to take my viol-da-gam and walk off to some sweet village, where I can paint landskips." In this etching, we see figures on horseback traversing a wooded path, a common scene in the English countryside. Consider the social hierarchy embedded in this seemingly idyllic landscape. The riders are likely members of the gentry, enjoying the leisure of a ride through their land. Meanwhile, the laborers and farmers who maintain this land remain unseen, their labor rendered invisible. Gainsborough captures a moment of serene beauty, but it is crucial to reflect on who has access to such moments, and at what cost.