Dorf an einem Wasser, von Bäumen umgrenzt, in der Mitte ein burgähnlicher Bau sowie eine Kirche 1870

Peter Becker created this drawing, “Village on a Water, Bordered by Trees, with a Castle-like Building and a Church in the Center," in the 19th century. As you look at this idyllic village scene, consider how class and gender are subtly woven into the composition. The architectural dominance of the castle and church speaks to the entrenched power structures, while the figures strolling along the water's edge offer a glimpse into the leisure of the privileged. Becker, working during a period of increasing industrialization, seems to yearn for a simpler, more ordered past. He does this by showing us the calm waters and the meticulously rendered foliage. Yet, this yearning also obscures the harsh realities of rural life for the working class, masking the socio-economic disparities beneath a veneer of pastoral beauty. This work invites us to reflect on our own relationship with nostalgia, and how we often selectively remember the past through a lens of privilege.