Huifkar op een weg te Driebergen Possibly 1887

Curator: "Huifkar op een weg te Driebergen," or "Covered Wagon on a Road near Driebergen," is an etching, likely made around 1887 by Elias Stark. It’s currently part of the Rijksmuseum's collection. Editor: Oh, there's something about it that tugs, isn't there? That road receding, that wagon... it feels like a fading echo of simpler times, somehow melancholy, too. Is that just me? Curator: Not at all. There is definitely a reflective quality here. Stark was very engaged with Realism and the emerging trends of Impressionism in the Netherlands. What you see here is likely "plein-air," done outside, in the moment. Editor: You can sense that spontaneity. Look at the clouds, they are wonderfully puffed up in such a rudimentary landscape. And the trees on either side sort of crowd the road. Was there some deeper interest at the time? I wonder, in this kind of transport—mobility. Curator: Absolutely! Mobility and the changing rural landscape were indeed crucial themes. The wagon itself becomes symbolic of that change – the movement of people, goods, ideas. It reminds the viewer that travel at the time was something other than instantaneous. Editor: The composition, even in its simplicity, does hold the eye. The road leads straight into a kind of dark copse in the distance. The texture, all etched, feels very rough to me, I could touch it even though it's a print. A memory of texture! It's beautiful. How accessible were works like this? Was Stark considered important? Curator: Stark had his place, showing widely, though perhaps not a household name today. Prints like these would have been accessible, part of a growing market for art among the middle classes. Editor: Knowing that helps the mood make a little more sense, like these might be things anyone could witness and be a part of the art. I am grateful that it’s now an echo from the past but one that we can feel right here, right now. Curator: I’m glad you feel connected. These quiet scenes from daily life carry within them silent stories of the Netherlands during a transformative era. They also suggest to us a shared future together, in our imagination.