Binnenplaats in Schwanenburg te Kleve 1851 - 1924

Carel Nicolaas Storm van 's-Gravesande created this evocative print, ‘Courtyard in Schwanenburg in Kleve’ using etching. The print depicts a courtyard of the Schwanenburg castle in Kleve, Germany. Storm van 's-Gravesande was part of the Hague School, a group of Dutch artists working in the late 19th century. They reacted against the formalism of the art academy, advocating for a more naturalistic style. You can see it here in the rough, sketch-like style of the print, and the interest in capturing a sense of atmosphere. The choice of subject matter also speaks to the social context of the time. The late 19th century witnessed a growing interest in national heritage and the preservation of historical sites, a romantic nationalism linked to the rise of modern nation-states. Artists' prints, like this one, played a role in promoting these values, inviting viewers to appreciate the beauty and significance of their shared past. To understand the print more fully, we might look into the history of the castle, the artist's biography, and the cultural values of the Netherlands during the late 19th century.