Heuvellandschap met bomen 1841 - 1853

Johannes Tavenraat made this pencil drawing called "Heuvellandschap met bomen," or "Hilly Landscape with Trees," sometime in the 19th century. Looking at this sketch, it is hard to tell exactly where Tavenraat positioned himself in relation to the art world. On one hand, the loose and informal way it is drawn evokes the plein air sketches of the Barbizon school. On the other hand, we can see that Tavenraat has annotated the drawing with colour notes such as "dampy braush," which suggests a possible studio use for such drawings. During the 19th century, the Dutch art world was undergoing profound institutional changes that gave artists new ways to situate themselves. Art societies and museums gave artists new venues for exhibiting and selling their work, while art academies standardized artistic training. With more research into the context of this piece we would better understand Tavenraat's position in this changing environment.