Gezicht op de houtmolens aan het Bosland buiten de Oostpoort in Rotterdam 1784

Curator: This etching by Carel Frederik Bendorp, created in 1784, presents a view of the wood mills outside the Oostpoort in Rotterdam. Editor: It has a melancholic beauty, a hushed stillness in spite of the active scene. The windmills are magnificent, but the soft gray tones evoke a somber, almost dreamlike quality. Curator: Bendorp was capturing a working landscape, and it’s a scene defined by the relationship between the city, its waterways, and these incredible windmills that powered so much of the Dutch Golden Age economy. It portrays the Boschjes-Eiland, that little island, from the city’s perspective. Editor: Right, I am struck by the workers, they're toiling, transporting timber, their figures sketched with such detail that contrasts starkly with the immense windmills. Do you get the feeling it’s a portrait of humanity dwarfed by industry? The dog playing in the water adds this touch of reality. Curator: Absolutely, the social commentary is woven in there. Prints like these were part of a larger visual culture, showing the industriousness of the Dutch Republic, promoting civic pride and commercial power through imagery that emphasized prosperity, though subtly acknowledging disparities. Editor: It's interesting to reflect that a contemporary photograph, a full-colour digital capture, would present us with only some truth, whereas this black and white print presents so much more. Curator: Indeed, while striving for realistic portrayal, the art also participates in constructing a civic narrative. It chooses what to emphasize. How would this scene be understood by a merchant compared to one of those laborers, I wonder? Editor: The lines invite so much speculation, don't they? It certainly makes one think about Rotterdam, before its reinvention, pre-war. And it invites one to consider who benefitted most. This little monochrome carries such narrative complexity. Curator: It is so true, perhaps prints like this have helped keep the discussion on who really prospers ongoing for hundreds of years.