Figuren in ossenwagen in Italiaans landschap 1864 - 1865

Frederik Hendrik Weissenbruch made this print called ‘Figures in an ox cart in the Italian countryside’ using etching. Weissenbruch was a Dutch artist who painted in the Hague School style. What does it mean for a Dutch artist to represent an Italian landscape? The scene seems to be taken from everyday life: people travelling, monks walking, women carrying items. But this idyllic scene seems to hide a darker underbelly. Who are these people? Are they economic migrants? Are they refugees fleeing some kind of social unrest? As art historians, our job is to research the social and economic context of nineteenth century Europe. We might look at records of migration to understand the politics of the image. We might ask whether Weissenbruch was making a comment on Dutch colonialism through this depiction of a foreign land. Through historical enquiry, we can understand the politics of imagery.