Paard in een besneeuwd landschap 1931

Lodewijk Schelfhout made this etching of a horse in a snowy landscape. It is now held in the Rijksmuseum. Schelfhout's stark image presents us with a lean horse, its ribs visible, standing forlornly in a winter landscape. In the distance, a simple boat rests on the water, and a solitary bird perches on a tree, adding to the scene's bleakness. What social realities might this scene reflect? Made in the Netherlands during the interwar period, this etching speaks to the hardships faced by many during that era. The horse, a symbol of labor and rural life, appears weary, perhaps mirroring the exhaustion of the working class. The Rijksmuseum itself, as a national institution, plays a role in shaping the narrative around Dutch identity and history, and so this work prompts us to consider whose stories are being told. To understand Schelfhout’s choice of subject, we can look at the social and economic conditions of the Netherlands between the wars through archives, newspapers, and personal accounts from the time.