Stadsgezicht met een molen c. 1828 - 1897

Adrianus Eversen sketched "Stadsgezicht met een molen" in the 19th century, capturing a cityscape with a windmill. The 19th century was a period of great social and economic change. It can be easy to romanticize the windmill as a quaint emblem of Dutch identity, while, at the time this drawing was made, the Netherlands was undergoing the beginning of industrialization and urbanization. Eversen, like many of his contemporaries, was keen to document traditional Dutch scenes which can be considered as a form of cultural preservation. The sketch may also reflect a longing for a pre-industrial past that existed in tension with the changing realities of the time. Consider the quietness of the scene and the seeming absence of people, this sketch is an invitation to reflect on the past. Eversen’s rendering becomes a subtle commentary on a society in transition.