A Clearing in a Forest c. late 1830s

John Varley made this small, intimate watercolor called "A Clearing in a Forest" sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century, during a period of intense social and economic transformation in England. Varley lived through the Industrial Revolution, when England's landscape was rapidly changing, and agrarian societies were giving way to urbanized centers. We get a sense of the shifting cultural values from an early Romanticism that idealized the majesty of nature, to the increasing dominance of industry. The lone figure standing in the clearing suggests the individual's relationship to nature. The monochromatic palette evokes a feeling of melancholy, as if the forest clearing is a refuge from the changing world. Varley's work reflects a longing for an idealized past, even as it acknowledges the inevitability of change, giving the artwork a quiet, emotional resonance that speaks to our own complex relationship with the natural world.