Scheveningen tijdens de storm van 28 mei 1860 1860

Curator: Good morning, let’s turn our attention to a scene both ordinary and sublime—a print made in 1860, titled *Scheveningen tijdens de storm van 28 mei 1860*—or Scheveningen during the storm of May 28th, 1860—created by Hendrik Wilhelmus Last. Editor: It feels almost monochrome, drained of all joy, but the sheer drama keeps it fascinating. You can practically feel the wind. Curator: Last has certainly captured that oppressive atmosphere using engraving and something akin to watercolor illustration, all in service to the artistic school known as Realism. Notice the sharp contrasts of light and dark which he uses to heighten that tempestuous mood. Editor: Yes, and see how the horizon seems to weigh down on the figures? I mean, formally, look how their dark shapes contrast against the greyness. It gives them an almost…heroic scale, despite them appearing vulnerable. Is it meant to be some form of genre painting? A captured slice of daily life. Curator: Indeed. This piece presents the people of Scheveningen enduring a powerful storm. Their lives intertwined with the whims of the sea. It is part genre painting but leans more into dramatic realism. Last invites us into a specific time and place with those ordinary people buffeted by fate. Editor: There’s a strange beauty in that fragility, you know? That little fishing boat tossed about—makes you wonder what stories it carries and those townspeople holding onto one another; reminds us that beauty can come in unexpected moments of resilience. Curator: And from this we might understand that storm need not signify an ending, that turbulence gives way to another, perhaps gentler, horizon? A shift in seeing and sensing, where beauty lies not in some romantic vision, but in that shared experience, and that fierce, unrelenting dance with reality. Editor: Well said! I suppose that a keen awareness of transience can alter the eye towards art itself, to a state of appreciation in an endless becoming... thank you!