Lusatian Landscape with the Landeskrone Mountain c. 1790

Editor: This drawing, "Lusatian Landscape with the Landeskrone Mountain," made around 1790 by Christoph Nathe, uses pencil on paper to create a really calm scene. It feels so delicate. What stands out to you? Curator: Immediately, I consider the materials themselves. Pencil, paper... ubiquitous. These were increasingly industrialized materials by the late 18th century, shifting artistic creation from the rarefied to something more connected to daily life, to wider availability. Think about the social context: what kind of labor produces these materials? Editor: So you see the choice of pencil and paper as significant in and of itself, tied to broader production practices? Curator: Precisely. A print might allow for wider consumption of a similar image, but the labor here is different: Nathe directly creates the image, shaping the material himself, allowing us to witness how individual labor and material agency come together. Also, what sort of "Landscape" is it representing, who did it benefit? Editor: Interesting... it moves landscape away from just being scenery. The drawing also uses this brown paper, rather than stark white. Curator: Exactly! The materiality of that toned paper alters the whole feel, doesn't it? Do you think its tone is relevant, other than aesthetics, to understanding its material conditions? Editor: Perhaps... by the tone he suggests warmth and natural dyes or inks, thus referencing pre-industrial and perhaps even craft values that persist to be significant. Curator: You got it, which suggests it may imply and allude to the labor behind a pastoral and perhaps romantic idea! Editor: That’s definitely given me a new appreciation for something as simple as a pencil drawing; there's a lot of labor to consider.