Little Wooden Bridge c. 17th century

Curator: This is Allart van Everdingen's "Little Wooden Bridge," currently held in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's a remarkably intimate scene despite the vast landscape—almost dreamlike. Curator: Everdingen, a 17th-century Dutch artist, frequently depicted Scandinavian-inspired landscapes, and here, we see figures dwarfed by the terrain. The bridge acts as a powerful symbol of transition. Editor: Transition, yes, but toward what? The figures seem suspended, caught between the dense foreground and ethereal background. Perhaps it's a comment on humanity’s place within nature's grandeur. Curator: Or perhaps it is reflecting a collective yearning for the sublime, a visual encoding of shared beliefs about nature. Editor: Precisely. It reminds us of the enduring power of simple imagery to convey complex feelings.