Figuur aan een picknicktafel in een door de maan beschenen landschap met kale bomen 1893 - 1896

Herman Boulenger produced this etching of a figure at a picnic table in a moonlit landscape sometime between 1890 and 1913. The lone figure is cast against a backdrop of bare trees under moonlight, evoking a sense of solitude. Boulenger was a Dutch artist and part of a generation that grappled with rapid industrialization and urbanization. We might see in his nocturnal landscapes a response to these changes, a retreat into nature and a focus on personal experience. The subtle tonality achieved through etching allowed Boulenger to capture the moodiness of the Dutch landscape, a tradition that stretches back to the Golden Age. To understand Boulenger's work more fully, we might look to the exhibition records of the time, to see how it was received by critics and the public alike. Such contextual details offer invaluable insights into the social and institutional frameworks that shaped both the production and reception of art.