Gezicht op de haven van Amersfoort 1760

Paulus van Liender created this print of the harbor of Amersfoort using etching, a technique that democratized image production in the 18th century. This seemingly simple landscape speaks volumes about Dutch identity during the period known as the Dutch Golden Age. The scene reflects a society that prized commerce, navigation, and technological innovation, symbolized by the windmill which dwarfs the nearby grazing cattle. But consider the absence: where are the markers of the Dutch colonial empire? Where are the ships that sailed to Indonesia, South Africa, or Suriname, or the people who were subjugated by the Dutch East India Company? This highly cultivated landscape thus reflects not only pride, but a cultivated ignorance. What we are seeing is a purposeful construction of Dutch identity, an attempt to forget its connection to the oppression of others. While serenely beautiful, the print serves as a potent reminder that every landscape is, in essence, a carefully curated and deeply ideological view.