Llangolin in the County of Denbigh, from the Turnpike Road Above the River Dee 1776

Editor: This is Paul Sandby's "Llangolin in the County of Denbigh, from the Turnpike Road Above the River Dee." It's a sepia print, and it has a lovely, almost manufactured feel. What can you tell me about it? Curator: I'm drawn to the material realities of this piece. Look at the paper itself, its texture and the way it receives the sepia ink. Think about the labour involved in both the production of the paper and the printmaking process. What kind of social realities are embedded in this image of Llangolin? Editor: So, less about the scenery and more about the means? Curator: Precisely. Consider how the print, as a reproducible medium, democratized access to landscape imagery. It speaks volumes about 18th-century consumption, doesn't it? Editor: I never thought about it that way. I guess I was stuck on the pretty scene. Curator: That's natural, but remember that art is always shaped by its production and its audience.