Landschap met boerderijen en twee figuren bij een beek 1852 - 1906

Emilie Rolin-Jacquemijns created this landscape with farmhouses and two figures by a stream as an etching sometime in the late 19th century. At first glance, the scene is an unremarkable depiction of rural life, but it’s important to remember that the art world of the time was dominated by men. As such, this image gains significance as an example of a woman artist working within and perhaps even subtly challenging these norms. Rolin-Jacquemijns, working in the Netherlands, engages with a landscape tradition strongly associated with male artists, but does so through printmaking, a medium often seen as less prestigious than painting. By focusing on the everyday, she avoids grand narratives and instead offers a glimpse into a more intimate, perhaps feminine, perspective on the Dutch countryside. Understanding this work fully requires us to consider the social conditions that either helped or hindered women artists at the time. By looking at exhibition records, art criticism, and biographical information, we can better understand how this work participates in the broader cultural conversations of its time.