Gezicht op Kleef, 1650 1733

Abraham Rademaker made this etching of “Gezicht op Kleef” around 1650. Rademaker was part of a wave of artists who, during the Dutch Golden Age, depicted landscapes and cityscapes of the Netherlands and surrounding regions. In this image, we see a view of Kleef, a town just across the Dutch-German border. The detailed rendering of the architecture on the hilltop contrasts with the simplified forms of the houses below, offering us a glimpse into the social hierarchy of the time, in which the elite literally looked down on those below. The presence of the Reformed Church spire in the distance underscores the religious and political tensions of the era, a time marked by the rise of Protestantism and the struggle for religious freedom. Rademaker doesn't just show us a place; he invites us to consider the complex layers of history embedded in the landscape. He shows us how the past shapes our present.