Landschap 1834 - 1903

This landscape, “Landschap,” was created by Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch, an artist working in the Netherlands in the 19th century. Weissenbruch lived and worked during a time of significant social change. The Netherlands was becoming more urbanized and industrialized, and traditional rural ways of life were disappearing. Weissenbruch’s landscapes are often interpreted as a response to these changes. Rather than focusing on the grand narratives of history painting, Weissenbruch turned his attention to the quiet beauty of the Dutch countryside. This sketch seems incomplete, as though the artist has left the industrial world behind to find solace in the natural landscape, but perhaps found that it has faded too much to capture. Through his art, Weissenbruch invites us to contemplate our relationship with the natural world and to consider the ways in which our identities are shaped by the places we inhabit. In the end, this sketch feels like an elegy for what has passed.