Brugstraat te Maastricht 1830 - 1899

Alexander Schaepkens created this etching of Brugstraat in Maastricht, a city in the Netherlands. Schaepkens was a regional artist working in the mid-19th century. We can understand this image as part of a wider trend of artists turning their attention to local subjects. Artists at this time were less interested in the grand historical scenes that dominated academic painting. Instead they focused on the everyday lives of ordinary people. In the Netherlands, this shift coincided with a growing sense of national identity and a desire to celebrate Dutch culture and history. The etching technique itself, with its emphasis on line and detail, lends itself well to capturing the textures and details of the built environment. To understand this image fully, we need to consider the social and cultural context in which it was made, looking at local archives and historical documents to understand the significance of this particular street and its place in the city's history.