Watersnood op het Kattenburgerplein te Amsterdam, 1775 1775 - 1776

Noach van der Meer the Younger created this etching of the flood on Kattenburgerplein in Amsterdam in 1775. In it, we see ordinary people wading through the flooded square, a scene of disruption and resilience. The image creates meaning by referencing both the immediate crisis and the broader context of 18th-century Amsterdam. This was a city whose wealth depended on complex systems of water management, but which remained vulnerable to the forces of nature. The flood is presented not as a distant event but as a shared experience. Visual codes of the time might have seen this disaster as a sign of divine displeasure, while others could have used this opportunity to call for a new civic infrastructure. As historians, we can deepen our understanding by consulting documents and archives such as newspaper accounts of the event, municipal records, and personal letters. By exploring these resources, we reveal the social and institutional forces that shape our understanding of a work of art.