Gezicht op het huis Voorstonden of Appeltern 1763

Dirk van der Burg made this ink drawing of Huis Voorstonden or Appeltern. It is rendered with painstaking care, giving us a clear idea of the building and its grounds. The choice of ink allows for the creation of fine lines, building up tones to create a delicate sense of light and shadow. Look closely and you will notice the artist's skilled manipulation of ink to evoke the subtleties of the architecture and surrounding landscape. The repetitive act of applying these strokes becomes almost meditative. This wasn’t just a means of faithfully capturing the appearance of the house, but also creating a stylized vision that reflects the values of the upper class who owned such properties. It embodies a society defined by hierarchy, labor, and consumption. By understanding the work involved in its creation, we gain a deeper appreciation for the values and aspirations of the society it represents. It’s a reminder that even seemingly simple artistic choices are deeply intertwined with the wider social and economic context.