Koeien op een stenen bruggetje 1838 - 1892

Pieter Stortenbeker made this watercolor, "Cows on a Stone Bridge," sometime in the mid-19th century. It depicts a common subject for Dutch painting: livestock in a pastoral setting. But it's worth asking ourselves why such images were popular and what purpose they served. The Netherlands, though a small country, had amassed a vast colonial empire by this time and wealth flowed into the country. The Dutch bourgeoisie used that wealth to acquire land. Paintings like this gave them a sense of connection to the countryside, as if they were participants in the rural economy, rather than its beneficiaries. Interestingly, Stortenbeker himself had a very different experience of Dutch institutions. Although he trained as an artist, he later worked as a bookseller to make a living. Perhaps that outsider status gave him a critical perspective on the values of his society. By looking at auction records, estate inventories, and other historical sources, we can begin to understand the social function of art like this in 19th century Netherlands.