Gezicht buiten Haarlem 1637 - 1677

Roelant Roghman created this etching of a view outside Haarlem in the Netherlands, sometime in the mid-17th century. At this time, Dutch landscape painting flourished, fuelled by a new sense of national identity and pride in the local terrain. However, Roghman's print also gives us a glimpse into the social realities of the Dutch Golden Age. We see peasants tending to their animals, their small figures dwarfed by the landscape. In this period the Dutch Republic was a major economic power, due to its control of international trade routes. But the great wealth that flowed through the country mainly benefited a small elite. Rural people remained tied to the land, struggling to make a living. By studying archival sources such as census records and tax rolls, we can get a clearer picture of the lives of people like those depicted in Roghman's print. Art is always shaped by the society in which it is made, and the historian's job is to uncover those connections.