Landschap met man te paard pratend met man langs kant van de weg 1739 - 1804

This etching showing a landscape with a man on horseback talking to a man by the side of the road was created by Johann Andreas Benjamin Nothnagel in the 18th century. At this time, the Academy was becoming an important institution that shaped how people viewed art and what art was made. The landscape had become an accepted genre, a move away from traditional depictions of historical events and towards humble scenes of everyday life. Nothnagel was born in Halle, Germany, and the architecture visible in this landscape is typically German. The artist has also captured different social classes: the man on horseback is likely wealthy while the men beside the road look like commoners. The etching is an intimate glimpse into a moment in time and reminds us of the importance of social and institutional contexts in the creation and interpretation of art. By studying the history of the time we can appreciate the social and political circumstances which shaped the artist's vision.