Ets met een landschap c. 1855

This landscape etching was created by Eduard Isaac Asser, a Dutch lawyer and artist, who was born in Amsterdam in 1809. Asser was part of a generation deeply influenced by the Romantic movement which glorified the sublime power of nature. The image shows a dynamic river scene, with a small bridge barely visible amidst the rushing water and dense foliage. The landscape is devoid of human presence, except for the implied viewer and those crossing the bridge, thus suggesting a sense of solitude and contemplation. Asser came from a privileged background, his father being a prominent lawyer. This position afforded him the leisure to pursue artistic interests. How might Asser's experience of nature differ from that of someone whose livelihood depended on the land? This image invites us to consider how access and privilege shape our relationship with nature and its representation in art.