Farming Folk – Adventures in the Countryside

The furrowed face of an elderly farm labourer. The portrait of a proud Friesian horse. A still life of objects in a rustic interior. These are timeless images, that have been captured by photographers such as Adriaan Boer, Henri Berssenbrugge and Ed van der Elsken and more recently by Bert Teunissen, Dirk Kome and Hans van der Meer. Some 250 images by more than seventy different photographers provide a visual account of the period that evokes many different themes: the development of a national cultural identity, the reshaping of the landscape, and changes in agricultural work. The images reveal both gains and losses, both the hard facts and the romantic vision. Dutch heritage still inspires many artists, because of the picturesque scenes, the way the light falls or rather by the indisputable everyday nature of farming activities.