Gezicht op Dinant 1839 - 1841

Paulus Lauters captured this view of Dinant using graphite and possibly some ink, during the burgeoning industrial era. As we look, consider how the serene landscape is juxtaposed with the rising smokestack of industry. Note the small figures on the road – are they merely passersby, or do they represent the working class moving towards or away from the factories? Lauters was working during a time when the idyllic rural scenes romanticized by the Dutch Masters were being challenged by a rapidly changing world. In this context, this artwork embodies a tension. It’s a moment where nature and industry, the individual and the collective, intersect and perhaps conflict. How does it feel to witness this blend of pastoral beauty and encroaching industrialization? This piece invites us to reflect on the costs and consequences of progress, urging us to consider whose stories are told and whose are overlooked in the march towards modernity.