Berglandschap op West-Java c. 1816 - 1846

Adrianus Johannes Bik made this pencil drawing of a mountain landscape on West Java. It is now held in the Rijksmuseum. Although undated, this landscape gives us insight into how the Dutch colonial project shaped artistic production. In the 19th century, artists like Bik played a crucial role in visually documenting and representing the landscapes and resources of colonized territories. They helped to create a sense of ownership and control for the colonizers. Here, the artist’s choice to depict the landscape as wild and untamed might reflect the colonial narrative of the time, which often portrayed colonized lands as needing to be tamed and developed by Europeans. To understand it fully we might research Dutch colonial history and the role of artists in shaping perceptions of Java. This reminds us that art is always embedded in a specific social and institutional context.