In the eighteenth century, naturalists laid the ground for modern understanding of geologic time: the reckoning of earth’s age through the study of rock layers and fossil records. Their new scientific vision informed the work of Swiss artist Caspar Wolf, who often joined geological expeditions into the Alps. In his topographically accurate yet highly picturesque studies he recorded glaciers, caves, waterfalls, and rock strata, evoking the earth's great transformations over time. In this view, which juxtaposes two minuscule spectators—possibly scientists in the field—with an awe-inspiring waterfall, Wolf’s scientific interests are infused with a budding Romantic sensibility.
Caspar Wolf (1735–1783), Alpine Landscape with Two Figures Looking at a Waterfall from Under an Umbrella, ca. 1773. Opaque watercolor, 12 1/4 x 7 15/16 inches (312 x 203 mm). Thaw Collection, 2017.268.