Boerderij aan het water c. 1827 - 1879

Remigius Adrianus Haanen created this etching, "Farm by the Water," in the 19th century, a period of significant social and economic change in the Netherlands. Haanen, working in a time of burgeoning national identity, depicts an idyllic rural scene. Yet, even in its tranquility, we can see the socio-economic currents of the time. The figures on the boat and near the farm, seemingly caught between land and water, evoke the era's shifting identities. Consider the labor implied in this landscape – the work required to maintain the farm, to navigate the waterways. Haanen’s work invites us to reflect on the relationship between the land and its inhabitants. This etching invites us to consider the stories embedded in landscapes and to reflect on our connection to the spaces we inhabit.