Boerderij tussen bomen c. 1885

Willem de Zwart made this small etching titled 'Boerderij tussen bomen', or 'Farm between trees', sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. De Zwart came of age during a time when the art world was rapidly changing. He positioned himself outside the dominant styles, like Impressionism, choosing instead to focus on the rural landscapes of the Netherlands. In this quietly evocative print, a farmhouse is nestled amongst trees, rendered in intimate detail. The scene has a dreamlike quality, doesn't it? I think de Zwart here is less interested in the specifics of place and more in the feeling of a memory. He captures something essential about the relationship between people and the land. The labor and the closeness, but also the quiet solitude. De Zwart's print invites us to contemplate the intersection of identity, place, and memory, at a time when all of these things were profoundly shifting.