These questions lead us to considerations of the Picturesque and the Sublime , aesthetics which influenced not only artistic and literary theory, but garden and landscape design as well. We must also consider the tension between Romanticism and Victorianism in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially as observed in the work of William Hogarth and William Blake. Throughout this exploration, a tension is maintained between the natural , local and national history of Britain, British landscape painting and landscape design , on the one hand, and the engraved illustrations from the plays on the other. The Victorians propensity for an endless poking about, for example, made for a theatre audience with an acute sensitivity to natural detail. Finally, two areas for further study are suggested by the exterior landscape engravings.
Several engravings show a strong directional light source.
Work needs to be done to link the engravings to the theatres in which the plays were produced, to determine if this light source represents illumination from either the limelight or the carbon arc light. This study, which grew out of my own fascination with depictions of nature and landscape, merely scratches the surface of a complex research problem. Much might be learned through a study, if such a study is possible, which compares color renderings of the scenography with the engravings which survive. Cross-referencing this study with further examples of 19th century scenic design, toy theatres, as well as easel paintings, and paintings from the works of natural history might help us develop a richer and more accurate picture.