Zeemmolen, ca. 1625 1631

Dirk Eversen Lons created this etching called Zeemmolen, or Seamill, around 1625. The Dutch Golden Age saw an explosion of such landscape scenes, but this wasn’t simply about pretty pictures. These mills were vital to the 17th-century Dutch Republic, reclaiming land from the sea. In a society shaped by trade, these mills came to represent ingenuity and control over the environment. Yet, this control came at a cost. The landscape was not empty; these were lands of farmers and villagers, with histories and rights that were often disregarded in the pursuit of progress. What do you feel when you look at this? Pride in progress, or perhaps a sense of what has been lost? Lons gives us a slice of life, but it's a life shaped by power, ambition, and the relentless drive to reshape the world.