Boeten van netten op een grasveld achter de duinen 1872 - 1944

Editor: This is "Mending Fishing Nets in a Meadow behind the Dunes," dating sometime between 1872 and 1944, by Frans Smissaert. It's watercolor and coloured pencil on paper, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. It has a peaceful but somber quality, and those figures on the horizon look isolated against the vast sky. What do you see in this piece? Curator: That somber feeling resonates deeply when we consider the lives of these fishers. We must examine the painting through an intersectional lens: think about the backbreaking labor involved in net mending. Who performed this labor? Predominantly women, right? Consider their position within a patriarchal society and how their work, essential to the fishing industry and thus to the sustenance of their communities, was often undervalued and invisible. Editor: I hadn’t really considered the gendered aspect of the work. Curator: And what about the dunes themselves? They’re not just scenery. They are a buffer against the unpredictable nature of the sea, a constant reminder of precarity. This work almost anticipates climate change anxieties of our present. Consider the temporary nature of these repairs, constantly undone by the sea's force. What can that tell us about the community and what role does class play? Editor: That’s a really interesting way to look at it, it reveals a completely different layer of the piece! Curator: Exactly! So when we observe these women bent over their nets, framed against this expansive yet indifferent sky, we are looking at an allegory of labor, gender, and the human condition itself, constantly battling against powerful, natural forces. It also brings forth urgent, crucial ecological perspectives and social commentary about working conditions. Editor: I’m walking away thinking about the artist’s intention as less an observation of a pretty landscape, and more a testament to the work and struggle of people dependent on the sea. Curator: Precisely. And hopefully, a call to action for us in the present.