Gezicht op de stad Zürich met op de voorgrond kerken en een brug c. 1860 - 1890

Rudolf Dikenmann made this view of Zurich with watercolor and gouache. The image presents an orderly, prosperous city, its architecture reflecting the importance of trade and governance. Here, the artist uses a bird's-eye view and a panoramic sweep to create meaning. The picturesque mountains in the background and the clean, modern bridges and public buildings reinforce an impression of civic pride and natural resources. We might consider how the neutrality of Switzerland during times of war enabled its institutions to grow, making possible the modern cityscape on display here. The buildings and places represented in this image have a historical resonance and symbolic significance that would have been clearly understood by Dikenmann's contemporaries. As historians, we can look at city plans, trade statistics, architectural drawings, and other paintings to understand the conditions that shaped the artist's vision and that determined how his audience would have understood it. We can then understand the painting's role in shaping social values.