Gezicht op Enkhuizen aan het water vanaf het Hoofd 1900 - 1931

Willem Bastiaan Tholen made this sketch of Enkhuizen in graphite on paper. The Netherlands in the late 19th century was a place of stark contrasts. Rapid industrialization and urbanization were reshaping the country, but many artists like Tholen looked to the past for inspiration. In this unassuming sketch we can see the outlines of Enkhuizen, a city with a rich maritime history dating back to the Dutch Golden Age. By the 19th century, the Golden Age was long past, but its memory lived on in the physical fabric of cities like Enkhuizen. Tholen's sketch captures this sense of a place caught between tradition and modernity. On the one hand, we see the timeless image of boats bobbing in the harbor. On the other, the sketch's very medium points to a new era of artistic experimentation, a growing sense of independence from the art institutions of the past. Art historians piece together a richer understanding of this tension by studying the social history of Dutch art.