Landschap met kasteel of stadspoort 1832

Paulus Lauters created this landscape with castle or city gate using etching. Lauters was working in the Romantic period, when artists turned to landscapes to evoke feelings of longing and connection to the past. Looking at this etching, we see a castle or city gate, softened by the surrounding foliage. The artist's identity as a white European man of the 19th century, undoubtedly shaped his vision of the landscape. At the time there was a growing sense of national identity, and landscapes often became symbols of national pride, even as colonial expansion was at its peak. Consider the emotional and societal undercurrents of this seemingly peaceful image. What does it mean to idealize the land, when land ownership and access were deeply divided along lines of class and race? This artwork captures not just a scene, but a whole set of values and beliefs about who belongs and what is worth preserving.