View of Rio de Porto in Sintra with the Castle of the Moors in the background 1840

This is Clementine de Brelaz's "View of Rio de Porto in Sintra with the Castle of the Moors in the background," a work on paper. It offers a glimpse into the cultural fascinations of 19th-century Europe. De Brelaz, a woman artist navigating a male-dominated art world, presents us with more than just a landscape. The Moorish castle looms in the distance, a romanticized symbol of a complex history of cultural exchange and conflict. The village below, nestled in the Portuguese landscape, hints at the everyday lives of its inhabitants, yet they remain somewhat anonymous. De Brelaz, as an outsider, captures a picturesque scene, but whose story is really being told here? How much does she really understand the lives of the people who live there? This artwork invites us to consider the gaze of the artist, the power dynamics inherent in representation, and the ways in which history and identity are intertwined in the landscapes we inhabit. What does it mean to look and to be looked at?