Landschap met boerderij en ossewagen 1803 - 1841

This is a landscape with a farm and ox cart, made by Johannes van Cuylenburgh around the early 19th century. The print renders a tranquil rural scene, with the composition structured by contrasting textures and tonal arrangements. Notice how the sharp, wiry lines defining the thatched roofs and the dense foliage of the large tree create a visual counterpoint to the smoother, more diffuse rendering of the sky and the open field in the background. This contrast not only directs our gaze but also evokes a certain tension between the cultivated domestic space and the untamed natural world. Cuylenburgh employs a semiotic system where the rural motifs—farmhouses, animals, and peasants—function as signs of a traditional way of life. Yet, the artist’s formal treatment, emphasizing line and texture over realistic depiction, challenges any simplistic reading of pastoral harmony. It invites us to consider how such scenes were idealized and perhaps distanced from the realities of rural existence.