Panoramisch landschap met vluchtende herten 1840 - 1870

"Panoramisch landschap met vluchtende herten," or Panoramic Landscape with Fleeing Deer, is a watercolor made by Johannes Tavenraat. Tavenraat lived during the height of the Dutch colonial era. The natural world was often romanticized but also placed within a framework of ownership. Consider how landscape art often served to reinforce notions of national identity and pride. Tavenraat himself focused primarily on Dutch landscapes. In this work, the deer running across the land evokes a sense of wilderness, but perhaps also of vulnerability. The deer are not fully free; their flight suggests they are being hunted, or their habitat is threatened. The panoramic view invites you to consider your own relationship to the land. Are you a part of the landscape, or an observer? Do you feel a sense of belonging, or alienation? This landscape creates space to consider our complex connection to the natural world, tinged with both beauty and a subtle sense of loss.