The Bass Rock from An Original Collection of Scottish Views

Tourists gazing upon attractions are a common enough feature of late 18th-century landscape art, often serving to underline the scenic status of the view. But, in this scene of boating in the Firth of Forth (a companion to the view of Tantallon by Stedman) the artist’s playful shift of emphasis from the famous volcanic rock to the absurdly over-dressed boat party ogling young local men sea-bathing in the nude puts the arguments advanced for the improving value of tourism into question.