Brug over een kanaal, vermoedelijk in Enkhuizen 1900 - 1931

Willem Bastiaan Tholen made this sketch of a canal bridge, likely in Enkhuizen, using graphite on paper. Tholen was part of the Hague School, an artistic movement deeply influenced by the social and political currents of the Netherlands in the late 19th century. As industrialization rapidly changed the landscape, artists like Tholen turned to the Dutch countryside and its waterways, seeking to capture a sense of national identity rooted in tradition. But what stories might these places conceal? In a nation built on water management, the canals, such as this one depicted, served as the lifeblood of commerce, yet they also marked boundaries, separating communities. Tholen's sketch invites us to reflect on who had access to these pathways and who was excluded. This unassuming sketch prompts us to consider the complexities of place, memory, and the social fabric of the Netherlands during Tholen's time.