The Rock in the Middle of the River 1621 - 1675

Allart van Everdingen created this print, "The Rock in the Middle of the River," using etching. The image speaks to the seventeenth-century Dutch fascination with the Nordic landscape, a place little known and imagined as both wild and sublime. Van Everdingen himself traveled to Norway and Sweden in the 1640s. Upon his return, he produced numerous prints and paintings that capitalized on a growing market for such scenery. Note that the artist likely embellished the ruggedness of the landscape, playing into the Dutch Republic’s own sense of itself as a place set apart by its hard-won independence. These visual codes, such as the rough terrain, and historical associations, like the independent spirit, offered viewers a specific message. Looking closely at prints and related documents helps us understand how images like this served a public role in their own time.