Architectuurstudie, met mos begroeide steen en een boomstam 1843 - 1857

Johannes Tavenraat made this pencil drawing, ‘Architectuurstudie, met mos begroeide steen en een boomstam’, sometime in the mid-19th century. It is currently located in the Rijksmuseum. This seemingly innocuous sketch gives us a glimpse into the institutional life of art at that time. We see a tree trunk, a moss-covered stone, and a fragment of gothic architecture carefully rendered in monochrome. In the 19th century, the gothic style was increasingly seen as the epitome of Christian northern-European culture. We might ask what a student such as Tavenraat was supposed to learn from these studies? Through the careful and accurate depiction of natural forms and historical styles, students at the academy were being trained to see themselves as guardians of a particular cultural heritage, as well as competent tradesmen, capable of undertaking any commission that came their way. By looking into the archives of art academies and the writings of the artists, critics, and theorists, we can learn to understand the role of art in the broader social and political context.