Erf van een boerderij Possibly 1866 - 1929

Willem Cornelis Rip made this drawing of a farmyard, using graphite, at an unknown date. Rip was a Dutch artist who belonged to the Hague School, a group of artists who shared an interest in painting landscapes and scenes of everyday life in the Netherlands. The image is presented as a double-page spread from a sketchbook. The looseness and lack of finish suggests that it might have been intended as a study for a larger work, or perhaps as a personal record of the artist's impressions of rural life. The drawing gives us a glimpse into the world of Dutch farming at the turn of the 20th century. Artists like Rip turned away from grand historical narratives towards more immediate scenes. This shift reflected a broader interest in the lives of ordinary people. To understand Rip’s images more fully, we might consult archives, local histories, and studies of Dutch art. Art is contingent on social and institutional context.