Berken 1830 - 1899

Alexander Schaepkens made this small etching, Berken, in the Netherlands sometime in the 19th century. At this time, landscape art was very popular, and artists often made prints like this one that could be easily shared and collected. The image presents a cluster of trees, likely birch, set against a cloudy sky and distant landscape. These atmospheric and topographical representations are not merely neutral records of nature. The level of detail in the trees’ foliage, combined with the overall naturalistic style, suggests a self-conscious turn away from earlier conventions of idealized landscape. Artists like Schaepkens were involved in the professionalization of art, exhibitions, and the development of a commercial art market. To fully understand this etching, we might turn to period writings on art and nature, exhibition catalogs, and biographical information on the artist, all of which contribute to a richer appreciation of art as a product of its time.