Rivierlandschap met veerboot Possibly 1640 - 1800

Editor: This is “River Landscape with Ferry,” an engraving possibly from between 1640 and 1800, attributed to Jan van de Cappelle. The detail is amazing! It feels like a slice of everyday life. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: For me, it’s about understanding this “everyday life” in the context of its time. The Dutch Golden Age was built on trade and expansion, and the landscape here, usually considered as idyllic, hides the consequences of a colonial and commercial system. Editor: So, you’re saying that this seemingly peaceful scene might be presenting an incomplete or even misleading picture? Curator: Precisely. Who benefited from the economic activity represented by this ferry? Whose labor sustained this society? Where is that reflected? The landscape becomes a screen, obscuring the less palatable realities of resource extraction and social stratification. Even the romanticization of nature served a purpose in justifying territorial expansion. Do you see other elements that might lead us to consider social class and economic background? Editor: I notice the figures waiting on the shore. Are they merely observing, or are they waiting for something or someone? Their presence suddenly feels more charged, like they are the disenfranchised who didn't get onto that ferry. Curator: Exactly! The ferry symbolizes movement and connection, but it also highlights divisions—who is included, and who is left behind? Reflecting on these absences encourages us to question whose stories are valorized, and whose are omitted. Editor: I see the engraving very differently now, understanding it as an art piece tied to commerce and colonization of that time. Thank you for sharing! Curator: Thank you. It is in those types of interrogations that this image gains significance today.