Landschap met bomen en struiken 1870 - 1931

Willem Bastiaan Tholen made this sketch of trees and bushes in pencil on paper. This Dutch artist was working at a time when landscape painting had become a really important way for people to think about their national identity. In the late 19th century, artists went out into the countryside to capture the unique qualities of the Dutch landscape, focusing on the flat, open fields, windmills, and waterways. Tholen's sketch emphasizes the immediacy of nature, but also the importance of sketching as part of a broader academic art practice. In the Netherlands at this time, the art academies were really important places where artists were trained to see and represent the world in a particular way. The Rijksmuseum itself played a role in shaping artistic tastes by collecting and displaying art that fit with a certain idea of Dutch identity. By looking at the archives of art academies and museums, and the writings of art critics, we can better understand the social and institutional forces that shaped this drawing.