Gezicht op de Grote Markt en de Wijnhuistoren te Zutphen, 1729 1741

Jan Caspar Philips created this etching of the Grote Markt and the Wijnhuistoren in Zutphen in 1729. Philips, working in the Dutch Republic during the early 18th century, captured a moment in the life of a bustling marketplace. Consider for a moment who is present in this scene and who is absent. We see merchants, shoppers, and possibly laborers, each playing a role in the economic life of the city. But what about those whose labor underpinned the wealth of the Republic, those laboring in the colonies? Notice how the architecture looms large. Buildings like the Wijnhuistoren were symbols of civic pride, but they also represented the established order and the power structures of Dutch society. Philips’s etching invites us to consider the complexities of Dutch identity, shaped by both local traditions and global trade. While seemingly a simple snapshot of Dutch life, the print hints at the broader, often obscured, dynamics of power and exchange.