Gezicht op de Barentszzee met ijsschotsen 1880

Louis Apol made this pencil drawing of the Barentsz Sea with Ice Floes. Apol was one of the foremost Dutch painters of winter landscapes in the late 19th century. These kinds of arctic scenes were popular in Europe at this time, as the great powers competed to explore the North Pole. The artist never visited the polar region himself, so we can ask, how could he be sure that this image was accurate? What sources did he use? Perhaps he visited the ethnographic collections in museums, to give an air of authenticity to his art. Or perhaps he based the work on the popular images of arctic expeditions that were circulating at that time. As an art historian, I’d want to find out more by studying the records of the art market, the publications that featured this image, and the museums that supported it. In that way, we can come to a deeper understanding of the social life of art.