Boerderijen te Eext (Drenthe) 1755 - 1818

Egbert van Drielst made this drawing of farmhouses in Eext, Drenthe, using pen in gray ink and brush in gray ink, sometime during his career between 1764 and 1818. The Dutch Republic was at this time a society of stark class divisions between a wealthy elite and an impoverished working class. This drawing creates meaning through the depiction of modest farmhouses, a symbol of rural life. It romanticizes the countryside while quietly obscuring the tenant farmers' hardships in the northern region of Drenthe. While the country experienced economic decline, institutions such as the Felix Meritis Society fostered artistic production that was meant to educate citizens of all classes. The topographical quality of this drawing may have served to reinforce a sense of national identity. As historians, we may consult period maps and tax records to understand the realities of rural poverty, and to assess the symbolic function of landscape imagery.