Vrouw in een landschap 1883 - 1888

Matthijs Maris created this etching titled 'Vrouw in een landschap' – or 'Woman in a Landscape' – sometime during his career in the late 19th century. Maris was part of the Hague School, a group of Dutch artists who sought to capture the atmosphere of the Dutch landscape, often with a melancholic or dreamlike quality. In this context, the woman’s figure blends with the landscape, blurring the line between the figure and the earth, creating a sense of unity, but also of possible oppression. Is the figure grounded, or trapped? Maris lived a life of relative isolation, and he invested his works with a deep personal emotion. This piece invites us to reflect on how women, both in art and society, have historically been represented as being one with nature, and consider the implications of such representations.