Mountain Landscape, Engelsburg, Germany 1872

Editor: This is John Singer Sargent's "Mountain Landscape, Engelsburg, Germany". It's a sepia wash drawing with a fortress looming over what looks like a village. It feels very much like a forgotten place. What do you see in this piece? Curator: This landscape, rendered in sepia, speaks to the power dynamics embedded within the picturesque. Sargent, often celebrated for his society portraits, here presents a scene laden with historical weight. Consider the fortress: Who built it? Who did it exclude? Editor: So, it's not just a pretty picture? Curator: Exactly. The landscape becomes a stage upon which histories of power and resistance have played out. The muted tones might even evoke a sense of historical erasure. What narratives do you think are missing from this scene? Editor: I guess it makes you think about who is not represented, whose stories aren't being told. Curator: Precisely. Art invites us to question, to excavate the untold stories within the visual.