Vierkante toren aan het water Possibly 1630 - 1765

Anthonie Waterloo created this etching of a square tower on the water in the 17th century. Waterloo, a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter, situates us in a time of significant transformation in the Netherlands, where the rise of a merchant class led to new forms of artistic expression. The etching depicts an imposing square tower, softened by the surrounding natural elements. The tower, with its suggestions of power and permanence, sits alongside figures in boats, evoking a sense of the everyday and the personal. Waterloo uses the landscape as a stage to reflect on themes of human presence within the larger theater of nature and time. This work invites us to reflect on how the changing landscape mirrors the social and political shifts of the time, capturing both the strength and vulnerability of human endeavors. It whispers stories of lives lived along the waterways, a testament to the enduring human connection to the land.