Rivierlandschap met een aantal huizen en schepen 1836 - 1912

This landscape with houses and ships was created by Isaac Weissenbruch with etching. The scene invites a sense of serene domesticity, contrasting the human-made structures with the natural, free-flowing river. The smoking chimney is an interesting motif. In countless images across time, smoke signals presence, industry, and even life itself. This reminds me of the smoke rising from the hearths in peasant scenes of the Renaissance. The chimney here, topped with smoke, suggests continuity and belonging, speaking to our primal connection to home and community. Consider its evolution from a symbol of simple domesticity to, say, the industrial chimneys of the 19th century, which evoke an almost uneasy sense of modern progress. The smoke, once merely a sign of a family’s hearth, now represents broader, more complex forces at play. This simple etching touches on the collective memory of our connection to land, home, and the shared human experience.