De ruïne van de Abdij van Rijnsburg 1779 - 1838

Johannes van Lexmond made this watercolour of the ruins of Rijnsburg Abbey in the Netherlands sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. The drawing depicts not just a ruined building, but a changed social order. Rijnsburg Abbey had been an important religious institution, founded in the 12th century. But the Protestant Reformation, and the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule in the 16th century, saw its dissolution and partial demolition. Here, the ruins are picturesque, almost romantic, but they also testify to the triumph of Protestantism and the rise of a new, more secular, Dutch society. The small figure of a shepherd with his flock in the foreground underscores this shift, suggesting a pastoral scene of everyday life taking place amidst the remnants of the old religious order. To fully understand this work, we need to look into the history of the Dutch Republic, the Reformation, and the role of religious institutions in Dutch society, looking to local archives and historical studies. Art like this reflects not just what was, but what society chose to remember.