Ruïne op een bergtop 1869

Johannes Tavenraat made this sketch of a mountaintop ruin in 1869, likely in situ using graphite and possibly some wash. It’s tempting to read this image as a commentary on the decline of feudal power. Picturesque ruins were a common feature of the visual landscape during the 19th century, especially for artists associated with Romanticism. In the Netherlands, however, the art market was dominated by accurate and topographically correct views of cityscapes and landscapes. The presence of ruins in Dutch art of this period can be better understood as nostalgia for an imagined past, combined with a burgeoning tourist industry. The Netherlands had a relatively weak aristocracy, so the ruin here is a generalized stand-in for ‘history’ or ‘the past’ rather than a more pointed critique of the social order. Careful attention to the archives of the Rijksmuseum, combined with travelogues from the period, might reveal more about the place where this sketch was made and what it meant for Tavenraat.