Buitenleven 1874

De Ruyter & Meijer created this print entitled Buitenleven, or ‘Outdoor Life,’ date unknown, using a lithographic process. The image presents six vignettes of rural existence, each accompanied by rhyming text in Dutch. It’s an idealized vision of country life, but one that’s inflected with social commentary. By the 19th century, when this was likely made, the Netherlands was undergoing rapid industrialization and urbanization. Images like this can be seen as a nostalgic yearning for a simpler, pre-industrial past, yet they also reflect a romanticized view of social hierarchy. There are images of wealthy people riding in carriages, and other images of laborers working the land. These scenes play into Dutch cultural tropes, but to fully understand the historical context, we need to look at sources like newspapers, journals, and census data. These sources help us understand the social and economic realities of the time. The meaning of art is always contingent on its historical context.