A River Scene 

Editor: We're looking at Joshua Cristall's watercolor, A River Scene. The figures seem so small against the landscape; it gives a sense of isolation. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It evokes the period's changing relationship with nature, doesn't it? Cristall, working during a time of rapid industrialization, perhaps captures a yearning for a simpler, pre-industrial life. Notice the muted palette. Does it speak to a romanticized vision of rural England, or maybe to a more complicated relationship between humanity and nature? Editor: I hadn’t considered the industrial context. It makes me see the smallness of the figures differently, as a commentary on the individual against larger forces. Curator: Exactly. Art isn't created in a vacuum. Considering its historical and social context can reveal a piece's deeper layers of meaning.