Vijf heren op een roeiboot 1722 - 1784

Simon Fokke created this print titled 'Five Gentlemen on a Rowing Boat', now housed in the Rijksmuseum. The monochromatic composition emphasizes the texture and detail achieved through the engraving technique. The eye is drawn to the five figures arranged across the boat, which are rendered with tight, precise lines. The print juxtaposes the artifice of human interaction with the organic forms of nature. The men are sharply delineated against a softer backdrop of trees and water, where the reflections are created through delicate hatching. Fokke uses line and form not just to depict but to create a dialogue between the natural and constructed, reflecting enlightenment concerns with rationalising and ordering the world. The buildings in the background add a further layer to this, representing attempts to impose order and form onto the landscape. This image challenges our understanding of space and representation by combining elements of reality with an idealized landscape.