Vogels in de sneeuw voor een venster 1842 - 1897

Christiaan Lodewijk van Kesteren made this print, “Birds in the Snow before a Window,” sometime in the 19th century. It depicts two young children peering out a window at birds on a snowy day. This image creates meaning through several visual and cultural codes. Images of domestic life were particularly popular in the Netherlands in the 19th century. The children are dressed in simple, traditional clothing and in their innocence represent a nostalgic view of childhood and the home. This nostalgia was a common theme in Dutch art during this period, as the country was undergoing rapid industrialization and urbanization. The art market supported conservative visions of Dutch culture and this print participates in that culture of sentimentality. To understand how the image circulated, we can look to the archives of the Rijksmuseum, and other period sources. These help us to understand the meaning of the art, contingent on social and institutional context.