Hotel Beekhuizen 1852 - 1857

In July 1852, jonkvrouw Elisabeth Kemper made this drawing of Hotel Beekhuizen, using graphite on paper. The delicate sketch captures not just a building, but also the emerging culture of leisure and tourism in the Netherlands during the mid-19th century. At this time, the Netherlands was undergoing significant social and economic changes. The rise of a middle class created new opportunities for recreation, and country hotels like Beekhuizen became fashionable destinations. Kemper, as a woman of noble birth, would have been part of the social milieu that frequented such establishments. The drawing is a product of a specific social class and its relationship to the landscape. To truly understand the artwork, we must consider the historical context. Tourist guides, maps, and social registers can help us reconstruct the world in which Kemper lived and the values she embodied. Only through careful research can we fully appreciate the complex social and cultural forces that shaped this seemingly simple drawing.