Berglandschap Possibly 1846

This landscape was rendered in watercolor in the 19th century by an artist known only by the monogram IVR. The scene might appear at first glance timeless or generic, but in fact, it belongs to a moment of particular historical interest, when artists began to concern themselves with landscape as a space to wander and take in sublime views. Romanticism, as this movement was known, saw artists rejecting the cities in favor of the countryside. This was a self-consciously progressive move, since cities were associated with institutions like the Academy. The artist seems to have been familiar with the work of earlier landscape painters, but has flattened the image, bringing the background and the foreground together on the same plane. This was a gesture towards a new way of seeing and experiencing the world. Analyzing how this artist both took from and departed from prior traditions can help us develop a nuanced and historically grounded understanding of this lovely watercolor.