Rivierlandschap met een aanlegsteiger met boten 1630 - 1676

Curator: Hendrick Jacobsz. Dubbels crafted this pencil drawing titled, "River Landscape with a Landing Stage and Boats", sometime between 1630 and 1676. I am drawn in by the delicate interplay of light and shadow that renders the boats almost spectral. What jumps out at you? Editor: It feels tranquil, but almost eerily so, like a paused moment before a storm or perhaps the quiet reflection of a city after everyone went to sleep. It's also beautiful how all of the action of the picture happens in the middle; and it's all surrounded by emptiness. It’s a curious mix of serenity and almost melancholy. Curator: Indeed. These river scenes were quite popular at the time, reflecting the Dutch Republic’s prosperity and its mastery over water. The multitude of boats speak volumes about this. Dubbels isn’t just showing us pretty scenery, it shows economic activity, a kind of liquid highway. Editor: A liquid highway - beautiful! But, I can't help feeling like this drawing reflects an ideal. You know, showing a perfectly ordered world, or, more precisely, that tiny part of it where you have ships with workers and even boats sailing towards nothingness; but what happens offstage? Do we see the hardship of labor or the environmental impact of trade? Curator: It’s interesting to view it from the social and material realities you bring to the foreground. While some other artists from this time explicitly dealt with societal disparities, most landscape painters glossed over many things we'd now deem relevant. Even today. This tendency towards beautification, a presentation of harmonious scenes continues. Editor: Absolutely. We are always building, always moving. This reminds me how carefully we curate narratives through images. What do we showcase, and what do we obscure? It's not simply a depiction of the water or shorelines, but what each person represents or not on their behalf in our eyes. Curator: Food for thought. Perhaps Dubbels provides a snapshot—beautiful, but inevitably partial. Thanks for this perspective! Editor: Always a pleasure to delve deeper with you! This has left me longing for the sea, and to also be more inquisitive about everything I perceive as absolute in images!