Landscape with family walking together in the foreground, at left two figures with herd of goats and sheep; a mill (?) and other buildings in the background 1530 - 1545

This landscape, teeming with life, was etched by Domenico Campagnola in the 16th century. The era was marked by burgeoning trade and humanist thought, shifting focus to individual experience within the natural world. Campagnola’s landscape is not just a pretty picture; it’s a stage where human stories unfold. Look at the family walking together, and the figures tending their animals. Consider the societal roles of men and women during the Renaissance. How were women’s lives circumscribed by domesticity and labor, while men engaged in trade and governance? The etching captures the essence of rural life, yet the looming mountains and fortified town hint at the ever-present realities of power and protection. Campagnola invites us to reflect on our place within the landscape, both physically and socially. It reflects the joys and hardships, the freedoms and constraints, that shaped the lives of people in the 1500s.