Landschap met boerderij en visser 1786

Hendrik Schwegman made this etching, “Landscape with Farmhouse and Fisherman,” in the Netherlands, sometime around the turn of the 19th century. At this time, the Dutch Republic was in decline, and the Batavian Revolution had recently brought revolutionary ideas about the importance of the common citizen. Here, Schwegman presents a rural scene. We see modest thatched-roof farmhouses, trees, and a fisherman in his boat. This print is an assertion of the value and dignity of rural life. The fisherman might stand in for the Dutch common man, his labor depicted as being in harmony with nature. To understand the significance of this image, it is worth considering the history of Dutch landscape painting and the social and political context in which it was made. Prints like this would have circulated widely and helped viewers formulate ideas about national identity. Such images are invaluable sources for historians interested in the construction of culture.