Oude Rijn bij het Mallegat 1769 - 1779

Noach van der Meer the Younger created this print of the Oude Rijn at the Mallegat. The Dutch landscape of the 18th century was a site where the burgeoning merchant class expressed its identity. The scene depicts an ideal rural life, reflecting a complex interplay of economic activity and sentimental connection to the land. Notice how the figures here seem to work in harmony with the landscape, whether tending to cattle or maneuvering boats. These representations reinforced the idea of a stable, prosperous society closely tied to its environment. This image also evokes the complicated relationship between the Dutch and their landscape, particularly their ongoing battle with water. The careful management of waterways was essential to Dutch identity and economic success. But this print also reminds us of those who were not always included in the Dutch Golden Age, whose labor made this carefully constructed world possible. This image asks us to consider whose stories are told, and whose are left out.