Stadsplein 1855 - 1881

Coen Metzelaar created this evocative scene of a city square, using ink and watercolor, capturing a moment in time where daily life intersects with the quiet stillness of winter. The bustling marketplace, filled with silhouettes of figures and stalls, evokes a sense of communal activity. These gatherings remind us of ancient Roman forums, where commerce and social life were intertwined. The stark winter scene is reminiscent of Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s winter landscapes. Bruegel used winter scenes to reflect human endurance and the cycle of life and death. This scene is filled with latent meanings. The snow, covering everything with a white blanket, acts as both a literal depiction and a symbolic erasure, like a tabula rasa. It invites us to contemplate the underlying currents of history and memory.