Oefening van een Nederlands regiment op het ijs bij Dordrecht 1820 - 1865

Friedrich Gustav Schulz made this print of a Dutch regiment exercising on the ice near Dordrecht. Prints like these served a crucial public function. They provided visual records of national events, military exercises, and even winter pastimes. Here, Schulz depicts soldiers in formation, their blue uniforms stark against the frozen landscape. The cultural references are clear: the windmills in the background, the skaters, and even the overturned boat in the foreground speak to a Dutch context. But, what about the regiment’s presence? The print perhaps reflects a moment of relative peace in the Netherlands, but it also speaks to the institutional power of the military. It would be interesting to know more about this regiment. Where had they served? What was their social and political position within Dutch society? These are the kinds of questions that social historians ask when interpreting art. We might consult military archives, period newspapers, and other visual sources to understand the social conditions that shaped its production. Ultimately, art offers a lens through which to view a society’s values and power structures.