Veerpoort te Leerdam 1836 - 1912

Isaac Weissenbruch made this print of the Veerpoort in Leerdam with etching around the mid-19th century. The image shows a gate and watchtower in disrepair, a windmill looming in the background. Weissenbruch belonged to the Hague School, a group of Dutch realist painters. They rejected the romantic idealism that dominated early 19th-century art. The Hague School painters instead turned to the everyday life of the Dutch countryside for their subject matter. They saw in the ordinary landscapes a unique national identity. But this turn to the ordinary was far from apolitical. It can be seen as a subtle protest against the increasingly urban and industrialized society of the Netherlands at the time. In capturing these scenes, artists like Weissenbruch were not just passively recording the world around them, but were actively involved in shaping a sense of national identity. To learn more about this artwork, explore the archives of the Rijksmuseum and delve into the history of the Hague School. Remember, every work of art is a product of its time.