Content: Introduction Higher ground Chester Arnold The subject of Chester Arnold's The Last Tourist is a dramatic mountain scene, but it doesn't take long to notice that there's more here than a simple landscape. Someone must have gone to enormous effort to build the passage through these forbidding peaks, but why? Where does the road lead? Where in the world is this place? The road to understanding isn't always easy There is an ominous beauty in Arnold's eerie landscape that both attracts and intimidates the viewer. As in a dream, the terrain seems somehow familiar — but we also sense danger. Arnold provides us only a few recognizable points of reference as a guide, leading us down an unfamiliar path in our search for understanding. A mystery in miniature On close inspection, we notice figures gathered around a campfire on the road leading into the mountain. By reading the artist's description of this painting, we also find out that he has included a tiny climber falling off one of the mountains in the shadowy upper left corner. The scale of the painting is large — over seven feet tall. The people in the work seem tiny in contrast to the size of the painting and the vastness of the mountain range. What conclusions do you draw from this additional information? Has your initial impression changed? Can you relate to this painting as both beautiful and ominous? Finding meaning in the mountains Your answers to these questions about content help shape your experience of the painting. The more you look at and learn about individual works of art, the more intuitively you can explore the themes suggested by art. Next: Rational & Emotional — Why does an artist choose to work in a particular style?