BALTIMORE, MD — Across geographies and time, water has played a critical part in shaping landscape, driving economic fortune, and inspiring technological and artistic innovation. This February, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) will open Watershed: Transforming the Landscape in Early Modern Dutch Art, an exhibition that reflects on the importance of water in the development of the new Dutch Republic—present-day Netherlands—leading up to and following its liberation from Spain in the 17th century. Through approximately 40 paintings and works on paper by such acclaimed artists as Frans Hals, Balthasar van der Ast, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Jacob van Ruisdael, among many others, the exhibition highlights the pivotal role of water in the political, social, economic, and ecological evolution of the emergent country. Watershed will be on view at the BMA from February 9-July 27, 2025, and is part of the museum’s ongoing Turn Again to the Earth initiative that explores environmental and sustainability issues.
“While national dialogues about environmentalism are often framed through contemporary experience, Watershed captures the realities of human engagement with the environment that began centuries ago,” said Asma Naeem, the BMA’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director. “The beautiful and often romantic views created by Dutch artists reflect economic prosperity and provide insights into the ecological and human ramifications of that success, historically and into the present.”
The region home to the Dutch Republic is largely situated at or below sea level and is defined by sandy coastlines and inland waterways and wetlands. As a result, the Dutch people have long engaged with landscape and the environment. In the 17th century, as they struggled for independence, they likewise undertook the critical work of draining waterlogged land, building dikes and canals, and protecting vulnerable coastlines. These efforts allowed them to control the natural landscape, and consequently, pursue economic ambitions at home as well as across the globe through their maritime power. Artists depicted the changing society around them through a variety of landscapes that feature elements of nature, commerce, and leisure activity. Equally important was the production of portraiture, still lifes, and maps, which were tied to these changes across society.
More information: https://artbma.org
