Open plek in het bos 1637 - 1684

Claes van Beresteyn made this etching, titled "Open plek in het bos," at some point during the Dutch Golden Age. Here, nature is depicted in the raw, but don’t think this is simply a neutral mirroring of the natural world. In the 17th-century Netherlands, landscapes became increasingly popular as symbols of national identity and pride. Artists like Beresteyn weren’t just painting pretty scenes; they were subtly promoting a vision of the Dutch Republic as a unique and cultivated place. At this time, landscape art was becoming more popular in the established institutions of art such as the Guild of Saint Luke, and the art market in general. To dig deeper, one might explore the economic and political conditions of the Dutch Golden Age to understand how the rise of a merchant class and a sense of national identity influenced artistic tastes and subject matter.