Exterieur van een kerk en hopovens 1858

Gerrit Postma created this pencil drawing of a church and hop kilns. Done by a Dutch artist, this work depicts the vernacular architecture of an English village. The church, a symbol of both spiritual and social order, stands above the hop kilns which were used for drying hops, a key ingredient in beer. It reminds us of how village life revolved around both religious and agricultural institutions. This quiet drawing speaks volumes about the social conditions that shaped artistic production in 19th-century Europe. Artists often turned to the countryside in search of authentic scenes of traditional life, implicitly contrasting it to an increasingly urbanised landscape. Historians consult diverse sources such as parish records, agricultural reports, and travelogues to deepen our understanding of artworks like this. We can only grasp the full meaning of art when we place it within its social and institutional context.