Boerderij tussen bomen 1637 - 1673

Adriaen Verboom created this etching, "Farm Among Trees," in the Netherlands during the mid-17th century. Landscapes were becoming popular in Dutch art at this time, reflecting the country’s growing sense of national identity and pride in its countryside. But landscape art was also connected to the market. Dutch artists produced landscapes like this for an increasingly urban, middle-class audience, one eager to purchase art for their homes. This etching emphasizes the peacefulness of rural life, a common theme in Dutch landscape art of the period. But, of course, reality was more complex. The Dutch Golden Age was also a time of colonialism, wealth inequality and intense global commerce. Art historians can use these landscapes to question how Dutch artists portrayed their world, and what they chose to leave out. The records and archives of art sales in this period can tell us more about how Dutch art was consumed and valued at the time.