Fotoreproductie van een schilderij van een straatbeeld door Jan van der Heyden en Adriaen van de Velde before 1891

This is a photograph made by Alexandre, in the late 19th or early 20th century, of a painting by Jan van der Heyden and Adriaen van de Velde. The painting depicts a street scene in the Netherlands, and it appears to be a rather unremarkable public space. But, of course, the public sphere has always been a fraught topic in the Netherlands, and so the image raises questions about who is allowed to be in public, and what kinds of activities are allowed to take place there. The Dutch Republic was unique in Europe for its tolerance of different religions and political views. The image may represent an idealized version of Dutch society, in which people from all walks of life can come together in peace and harmony. To understand this image better, we need to delve into the social and political history of the Dutch Republic. We need to look at the ways in which the public sphere was constructed and contested. We need to ask ourselves: what did it mean to be Dutch in the 17th century, and how did this image contribute to the construction of Dutch identity?