Landschap met een molen op een bolwerk 1623 - 1673

This landscape with a mill on a bulwark was created by Herman Breckerveld, sometime before his death in 1673. It's an etching, a printmaking technique that relies on acid to bite lines into a metal plate, which is then inked and printed. The material properties of metal enable incredibly fine detail, which you can see in the delicate rendering of the foliage and architectural details. Etching was ideally suited to the production of landscapes like this, which had become increasingly popular with the rising merchant class in the Netherlands. Breckerveld was part of a larger workshop system, where labor was divided. He would have been responsible for the design and execution of the etching, while others would have been responsible for printing and selling the finished product. Landscape etchings like this one helped to establish a sense of national identity and pride, even as they were being consumed as commodities in a growing market economy. So, the next time you look at a seemingly simple landscape, remember to consider the complex social and economic forces that helped to bring it into being.