A Rocky Landscape at Civita Castellana 1776

Editor: So, this is Jacob Philipp Hackert's "A Rocky Landscape at Civita Castellana," created in 1776 using charcoal and pencil. It's a beautiful landscape, but the monochromatic palette makes me wonder about the labor that went into creating such detail with so little tonal variation. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a direct relationship between the depicted labor—the arduous journey across that rocky landscape—and the actual labor Hackert invested in rendering each crevice, each leaf. It invites us to consider the materials themselves. Pencil and charcoal weren't simply tools for representation; they were agents in a dialogue about value. Editor: Value? Curator: Yes. This wasn't high art intended for royalty, it's a study. And consider the rising middle class, the consumption of picturesque views was fashionable. Prints made from drawings like these democratized access to landscape, bringing it into the homes of those who couldn't afford grand paintings or travel to Italy themselves. So, how does this piece participate in, or perhaps challenge, traditional artistic hierarchies, considering it's "just" a drawing? Editor: That’s a perspective I hadn’t considered! The materiality and process speak to both accessibility and artistic intention, reflecting the shift in consumption patterns. Curator: Exactly! Think about the social context. Travel became easier for the burgeoning middle class and the production of artworks had to respond to it. Now consider the availability of print, that made this sort of art quite popular... Editor: This has definitely changed my perspective. It's fascinating how focusing on the materials and their social context reveals a much richer narrative than just the beauty of the scene itself. Curator: Absolutely, seeing art through a materialist lens reveals the often overlooked stories embedded within the artwork's production.