Boerderij aan het water 1814 - 1879

David van der Kellen created this etching, “Farm by the Water,” sometime in the mid-19th century. It is part of a long tradition of Dutch landscape art. But rather than focus on grand vistas or moralizing allegories, van der Kellen directs our attention to the everyday. Here we see the mundane activities of rural life, made visible through the visual codes of the Northern European landscape tradition. A woman seems to be attending to some work near the farmhouse, while a man sits idly by the fence. In the distance, a windmill hints at the economic activity that animates this scene. The etching was produced at a time of great social and economic change in the Netherlands. The rise of industrialization and urbanization was beginning to transform Dutch society, and artists like van der Kellen turned to the countryside for inspiration. Art historians consult the records of institutions like the Rijksmuseum in order to learn more about the circulation and reception of works like this one. They allow us to understand not only the changing world, but also the meaning of art in a changing world.