Nettenboetsters 1887 - 1889

Carel Nicolaas Storm van 's-Gravesande created this print called "Nettenboetsters" using etching techniques. It shows three women repairing fishing nets, a scene that offers insight into the working lives of women in the Dutch fishing industry. Prints like this one reflect a late nineteenth-century artistic interest in depicting everyday life. In the Netherlands, images of rural labor and simple, traditional ways of life were often embraced as representations of national identity and cultural values. This was a time of rapid industrialization and urbanization and the country sought to maintain a connection to its past. To truly understand such an artwork, one would need to research Dutch social history, paying attention to the economic conditions of fishing communities, as well as the cultural values being promoted by the art institutions of the time. It's the kind of research that allows us to see art as part of a broader social and institutional landscape.