Landschap c. 1840 - 1843

Sybrand Altmann created this landscape drawing with graphite sometime in the mid-19th century, a period when Dutch art was deeply engaged with its national identity. The very act of depicting the landscape was a social statement. After the Napoleonic era, artists turned away from grandiose historical or mythological scenes, and instead focused on the local, on the everyday beauty of the Dutch countryside. This shift was part of a larger cultural movement to define and celebrate what it meant to be Dutch. The art institutions of the time, like the Rijksmuseum itself which was founded in 1800, played a role in shaping this national artistic identity. By collecting and exhibiting landscapes like these, they were creating a visual narrative of the nation. To understand the drawing fully, we can look into exhibition records, artists’ societies, and the writings of art critics. What emerges is an image of art deeply embedded in its social and institutional context.