Landschap met molens en grazend vee naar Ruysdael after 1854

Johannes Tavenraat made this pencil drawing of a landscape with windmills and grazing cattle, after Jacob van Ruysdael. Made in the Netherlands in the 19th century, this drawing gives us insight into the artistic and social conditions of the time. The choice of landscape as a subject connects it to the cultural interest in representing the nation and its land. The presence of windmills reflects the importance of technology for the country’s economy. Note that Tavenraat explicitly mentions that the landscape follows Ruysdael, a 17th-century painter. This reveals the institutional history of the art world, where artists learn by copying the work of other artists. Historians of art can look at paintings like this in light of the artistic conventions of the time, and also think about the impact of the economy and the art institutions on the work. This helps to see the role of art as reflecting social contexts.