Gezicht op Kromme Rijn 1745 - 1795

Jacobus Versteegen created this etching, titled 'Gezicht op Kromme Rijn,' which translates to 'View of the Crooked Rhine,' during the late 18th century, a period marked by significant social and political change. The print depicts an idyllic river scene with people fishing and going about their daily lives. It's a window into the prevailing attitudes towards nature and leisure of the time. However, we might also consider the lives and labors of those not pictured – the working classes who sustained this seemingly tranquil world. Where are the women in this image? What does it mean that only men are pictured in leisure? This work invites us to reflect on the complexities of representation, encouraging a dialogue between the visible and the unseen, the celebrated and the marginalized, and the ways in which our understanding of the past is always shaped by the present.