Landsbyen på flodbreden 1618 - 1686

Gillis Neyts created this etching, titled *Landsbyen på flodbreden*, which translates to *Village on the Riverbank*, sometime in the 17th century. During this time, the Dutch Republic was experiencing its Golden Age, marked by economic prosperity and cultural flourishing. Neyts’s tranquil landscape reflects a society increasingly focused on secular, everyday life. Look at the way the artist has positioned the buildings in relation to the water, and the figures in the boat. Are these people travelling to or from the village? Is this a depiction of a specific place, or an imagined scene? Neyts’s etching invites us to consider the relationship between community and nature. It provides an intimate glimpse into the lives of ordinary people during a transformative period in European history. Although the scene may seem bucolic, it's worth remembering that this was a time of growing social inequality, where only some could afford this type of leisurely life.