Gezicht te Nijmegen met een veer over de rivier Possibly 1785

Hendrik Hoogers rendered this view of Nijmegen with pen and watercolor, capturing the town and river. The clouds command our attention, a motif seen across art history from ancient Greek pottery to Renaissance frescoes. These clouds, atmospheric and evocative, remind us of humanity's enduring fascination with the sky. Think of Zeus, the god of thunder, often depicted amidst clouds, or consider how clouds symbolize divine presence in countless religious paintings. In a seemingly secular scene of 18th-century Dutch life, these clouds echo earlier associations with the sublime and the spiritual. Across time, clouds morph from symbols of divine power to metaphors for human emotion, mirroring our collective unconscious and dreams. This view engages with a deep, subconscious level, reminding us of the past.