Ruïne van de abdij van Rijnsburg 1637 - 1678

Willem Schellinks made this drawing of the Ruïne van de abdij van Rijnsburg using pen in gray ink and gray wash. Here, the artist pictures the ruins of the Abbey of Rijnsburg, which once held significant religious and social power in the Netherlands. Following the Reformation, the Abbey was dissolved, and its buildings gradually fell into disrepair. Schellinks, working in the 17th century, captures the poignancy of this decline. Consider the image as a commentary on the shifting tides of power. What was once a center of religious authority is now a crumbling vestige of the past. The decaying structure invites reflection on the transience of human institutions. To truly understand this drawing, one can turn to historical archives and local records, to reconstruct the Abbey’s role in Dutch society, and to interpret the impact of religious and political change on the cultural landscape. The study of art is always contingent on social and institutional context.