Migratory Birds on a Moonlit Night 1907

Theodorus van Hoytema made this print, "Migratory Birds on a Moonlit Night," sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. This piece evokes the romanticism found in earlier landscape painting, filtered through a sensibility attuned to the naturalism of the modern age. Hoytema, a Dutchman, was deeply involved in the cultural debates around the relationship of art, nature and nation. He was associated with the Hague School, which saw artists turning away from historical and academic subjects in favor of landscapes and genre scenes that depicted the everyday life of the Netherlands. You can see that sensibility here, with the simple evocation of a night scene. To understand Hoytema, we need to delve into the art criticism of the period, exhibition records, and the biographies of other artists in his circle. It's through this kind of social history that the meaning of the artwork as a reflection of its time emerges.