Rocky Landscape with a Road and a River c. 1622 - 1625

Hercules Segers made this print, "Rocky Landscape with a Road and a River," sometime in the early 17th century, employing etching and possibly other techniques, a testament to his experimental approach to printmaking. Segers lived during the Dutch Golden Age, a period marked by unprecedented economic prosperity and cultural flourishing in the Netherlands, as well as the violence of the Eighty Years' War. His landscapes often evoke a sense of solitude and introspection, perhaps reflecting the precariousness of life during this era. There is an undeniable, emotional weight to Segers' landscapes, which deviate from the idealized pastoral scenes prevalent at the time. His rugged, desolate landscapes offered an alternative vision, one that acknowledged the harsh realities of the natural world. Segers invites us to contemplate our place within the vastness of the universe, a feeling tinged with both awe and vulnerability.