Gezicht op de Amstel tussen hofstede Kostverloren en Ouderkerk aan de Amstel 1708 - 1740

Matthijs Pool created this print, "View of the Amstel between Kostverloren and Ouderkerk on the Amstel" in the early 18th century, using etching and engraving. The serene river scene belies the economic and social currents of the Dutch Golden Age. Waterways were the lifeblood of Dutch trade and expansion, yet who truly benefited from this prosperity? Pool, as an artist, was part of a growing merchant class, but his detailed landscapes also remind us of the labor and resources extracted from both the Dutch countryside and its colonies. The boats on the river, symbols of commerce, were also instruments of a colonial project that greatly affected gendered and racialized identities. The wealth that allowed for leisure and landscape art was directly tied to the exploitation of others. These tranquil scenes can be unsettling when we consider the foundations upon which they were built.