Kasteel d'Ardennes 1854

Martinus Antonius Kuytenbrouwer Jr. made this print of Kasteel d'Ardennes. The image offers us a glimpse into the 19th-century Dutch interest in landscape and the picturesque. In this period, the romantic ideal of nature became a means through which national and cultural identities were negotiated. Kuytenbrouwer’s choice to depict the Ardennes, a region spanning parts of Belgium, France, and Germany, suggests a deliberate engagement with broader European landscapes. But what does it mean to capture a landscape? Whose stories are told, and whose are left out? The castle atop the hill becomes a marker of power. How does it feel to view the landscape from this position? This vista allows for a romanticized or even idealized experience. What are the social and economic realities of the people who inhabit this space? What is gained, and what is lost in this representation?