Gezicht bij Nieuwpoort 1854 - 1879

Jules Marie Armand Goethals created this landscape, *Gezicht bij Nieuwpoort*, using pen and graphite. Goethals, who lived in Belgium during a time of significant social and economic change, captures a very specific sense of place in this work. Consider the relationship between the viewer and the landscape. We are invited to look into the distance, but a fence and some bushes partially obscure our view. This creates a sense of both invitation and exclusion. In the 19th century, the Romantics used landscape to explore feelings of the sublime, but this image feels more intimate. It represents land as both a place of beauty, and a space that is closed off. Perhaps, Goethals is suggesting the exclusivity of land ownership. There is a quiet, contemplative mood in this landscape. The simplicity of the scene draws us in, inviting reflection on our own relationship with the natural world and the boundaries that define our access to it.