Karren en figuren op het strand van Scheveningen c. 1873

Johannes Bosboom made this pencil drawing of carts and figures on the beach at Scheveningen. Given Bosboom’s dates, we can assume it was made some time in the mid-19th century. The Netherlands have a long tradition of beachscapes in art, but this one is of particular interest because it is a sketch. Bosboom made it as a preparatory work, and it may have been a personal one too. The fact that this remained a sketch gives it a sense of modern, urban life, catching a fleeting moment in time. The Rijksmuseum holds this drawing, and the institution’s history is connected to the history of Dutch nationalism. Drawings like these can help us understand the daily lives of ordinary Dutch people at the time, away from grand historical paintings. Historians can look to sources from the time, like diaries and newspapers, to understand the kind of social relations that are on display here.