Boslandschap met houtsprokkelaars 1815 - 1867

Curator: This print is titled "Boslandschap met houtsprokkelaars" or "Wooded Landscape with Wood Gatherers," an etching by Willem Matthias Jan van Dielen, likely created sometime between 1815 and 1867. Editor: It strikes me as somber. The gray-scale print, filled with vertical lines making up these massive, skeletal trees. A real contrast to a feeling of freedom. Curator: Right. Consider the era. During this time, industrialization deeply affected the lives of those living in rural areas in countries such as the Netherlands. As more communities struggled financially, land that was once open for public use to gather wood, hunt, or forage became increasingly privatized. Laws then criminalized actions previously considered acceptable such as gathering fallen wood from a forest, further marginalizing the rural poor. Editor: That's a weighty history held in what at first seems like a peaceful forest scene. Looking again, you can read the toil on the people gathering wood. I also noticed, as I consider the symbols, that a burdened figure carries her harvest atop her head, in order to free her hands. Curator: That compositional detail makes me consider it further: the obscured face under the bundles of wood carried. Do we have anonymity because the artist intended it, or is it meant to invite viewers to connect the experience to broader struggles of rural labor? The limited amount of shading on these figures makes me see a more general reference of rural folk during the era. Editor: An interesting way of viewing, versus me, the artist portraying something in great detail but that could then translate to every-day situations. The etching medium, too, contributes, I think, to the bleakness, as it cannot produce sharp lines. This artwork could have been intended to showcase not a single hardship, but rather represent something relatable. The very trees themselves appear weary, in this symbolism. Curator: Thinking through that, and how an otherwise commonplace scene speaks to greater marginalization really opens it up for new discussion. Thanks. Editor: Thank you! This art is able to hold so much memory, and meaning!