Sommeltjesbergje op Texel c. 1777 - 1779

Curator: Cornelis Bogerts created this engraving, titled "Sommeltjesbergje op Texel," sometime between 1777 and 1779. Editor: Well, first blush? It's wonderfully peculiar! Like a stage set dropped onto the Dutch countryside. The people seem to be performing a little play upon this grassy mound. Curator: Indeed. It showcases the Sommeltjesberg, a legendary landmark on the island of Texel, now part of the Netherlands. But its rendering adheres to the Neoclassical movement which prized order and idealized forms, Editor: Right, you've got the serene, almost mathematically laid-out landscape behind... It's very picturesque, a bit theatrical almost, but something feels, I don’t know, stilted? Perhaps it is the highly stylised hill itself, a playground. Curator: Remember, landscape prints like this were commodities for a growing tourist market and served as records and idealizations of the Dutch countryside and allowed access to imagined experiences. And for an audience accustomed to classical principles, scenes had to align with certain expectations of beauty. Editor: Sure, so, it’s selling a romantic idea, not pure documentary. This idea that even common landscapes are steeped in some narrative? Like that bloke scrambling up with a rope – what's he even doing? Is he hunting for those elves the mountain's named after? Curator: Likely planting a Maypole, it was thought the Sommeltjesberg was the site of traditional holiday celebrations! Genre scenes often aimed for instructive qualities that also gave way to sentimental moments, inviting viewers to relish pastoral life. Editor: Pastoral… yes, if the grass grew in perfect curves. Though, look at that bird formation above. A small dash of lovely realism cuts through the idealism below. It whispers to something untamed behind that facade, like a story that’s barely keeping itself contained. Curator: I find it offers a fascinating perspective into how the Dutch conceived of and promoted their national image through landscape. Its enduring presence in the Rijksmuseum suggests that this invented story remains compelling. Editor: I think you're right. Ultimately this piece asks: What’s more true, the story we build on the land or the story the land holds itself? And sometimes? Those blend until we can hardly tell which is which anymore.