Landschap met graftombe van familie Van der Capellen, 1785 1785 - 1787

Curator: Here we have a work entitled "Landschap met graftombe van familie Van der Capellen, 1785," created somewhere between 1785 and 1787. It resides here at the Rijksmuseum, rendered as an engraving. What strikes you first? Editor: Bleak grandeur. That's what springs to mind. It's somber, yet the figures, those tiny people almost dwarfed by the gates and structure behind them, give it a peculiar, living quality. Like witnessing a ghost story unfold. Curator: It’s a fascinating example of neoclassicism— the movement was all about reviving those grand, stoic forms of classical antiquity, right? But blended with something that feels uniquely… Dutch. The landscape isn't romanticized; it has a kind of quiet pragmatism. Editor: Exactly! The architecture itself feels monumental, heavy with history, almost as if weighed down by all those family secrets. Do you think it romanticizes death? Curator: It definitely idealizes a certain kind of familial legacy, one rooted in land and lineage. Though neoclassicism often carries a detached emotional tone, here, in its juxtaposition with such intimate themes of death and legacy, there is also room for personal contemplation. Even melancholia? Editor: Perhaps. I am sensing a kind of pride... and maybe loss. It is really difficult to determine the full intentions within this sort of imagery. The composition of this piece guides your eye meticulously across its entire frame, highlighting an intimate human touch that is very endearing. Curator: Yes! Jonxis’s technique in the engraving truly captures an amazing depth. It emphasizes those textures beautifully. The stark lines accentuate the stillness, but it's like the stillness right before something happens. Fascinating isn't it, how art, even the static kind, keeps on stirring! Editor: Very much so. Art always has something to say to us. It speaks in echoes that resonate even now. This landscape, so precisely crafted, somehow still whispers stories across the centuries.