River Landscape with Peasants on the Way to Market c. 1629 - 1630

Lucas van Uden painted "River Landscape with Peasants on the Way to Market" on wood panel, capturing a scene teeming with life and labor. Van Uden, born in Antwerp, was working during a time when the Dutch Republic was asserting itself through trade and agriculture. Here, we see peasants rendered with a certain amount of dignity, moving their goods. But, as we consider this painting, it's worth reflecting on who is missing. The people who were colonized, dispossessed of their land, and exploited for labor, who enabled this economy. This absence speaks volumes about the narratives that were privileged. The painting romanticizes the movement of goods and people within a landscape, yet it remains silent on the larger dynamics of power and exploitation. Consider what it means to depict labor in this way. Is it a celebration, or an obfuscation?