Landschap met een brug en een ruïne 1688 - 1727

Pieter Nolpe created this landscape with a bridge and a ruin as an etching sometime in the 17th century. Looking at the image we can see that Nolpe included a horse rider and a horse-drawn carriage crossing a bridge. On the other side we see a goatherd resting beside a ruin that’s in the process of being reclaimed by nature. Images of ruins and peasant life had been around since the late 15th century, often intended as allegories for life’s transience, or reminders of an idyllic past, now gone. In the Dutch Golden Age, landscapes acquired new levels of symbolic meaning. By representing the land, Dutch artists and patrons were also representing their young nation. Further research into the artist’s biography, period writings, and the cultural context that shaped Nolpe's vision, all help to shed light on his artistic decisions. Art history allows us to look at works of art as products of their time.