Landschap met boerderij buiten Haarlem 1765 - 1826

Balthasar Paul Ommeganck made this drawing of a farm outside Haarlem with pen in gray ink and brush in gray, sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. Ommeganck's rural scene evokes the ideals of agrarian life that were gaining traction in the Netherlands at this time. Note how the farm is harmoniously nestled in the landscape. As the urban centers grew, people idealized country life in response to anxieties about modernization. The art market also played a role, creating demand for images that romanticized nature. To truly understand this work, one should examine Dutch agricultural practices of the time. Consider too the rise of landscape painting as a genre within the Dutch art world and study Ommeganck's other work in order to see the themes he returns to again and again.