Artwork
Landscape with Fishermen and Farmers Extracting Peat in a Marsh
Landscape with Fishermen and Farmers Extracting Peat in a Marsh is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Hendrik Willem Schweickhardt. It dates from 1792 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition shows fishermen working from boats while farmers labor in the marshy ground, extracting peat for use as fuel.
Landscape with Fishermen and Farmers Extracting Peat in a Marsh depicts a lowland rural scene combining two traditional Dutch activities: fishing and peat-cutting. The composition shows fishermen working from boats while farmers labor in the marshy ground, extracting peat for use as fuel. A house is visible in the landscape, anchoring the scene as a settled, inhabited environment rather than a wilderness.
The work represents the everyday working landscape of the Dutch countryside in the late eighteenth century, presenting peat extraction and fishing as coexisting livelihoods shaped by the watery terrain. As a landscape painting, it emphasizes the relationship between human labor and the marsh environment, documenting rural practices that defined the region's economy and identity.
Technique & Style
Hendrik Willem Schweickhardt executed Landscape with Fishermen and Farmers Extracting Peat in a Marsh in 1783 using oil paint applied to a panel support. The work is classified as a landscape painting that formally depicts rural labor scenes featuring houses and boats within a marsh setting. The physical dimensions of the panel measure 28.4 cm in height and 37.6 cm in width.
The handling of the medium captures the specific genre elements of the Dutch landscape tradition, focusing on the extraction of peat by farmers and fishermen.
Context
The painting was created by Hendrik Willem Schweickhardt in 1783 and depicts a scene of peat extraction in a marsh, reflecting the artist's focus on rural labor and agrarian landscapes. It is classified as a landscape painting and was executed in oil on panel, measuring 28.4 cm in height and 37.6 cm in width. The work is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum and was previously associated with Richard Green Fine Paintings, linking it to 18th-century Dutch genre painting traditions.
Overview
Hendrik Willem Schweickhardt’s 1792 oil painting, Landscape with Fishermen and Farmers Extracting Peat in a Marsh, presents a quiet rural scene. A modest house and a small boat occupy the middle ground, while figures work the wetland, some cutting peat, others casting nets. Beyond them, gentle hills rise under a cloud‑filled sky, creating a balanced composition that captures everyday life in a Dutch marshland.
History & Provenance
Created in 1792, the painting entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains on display. Its attribution to Schweickhardt aligns with his known focus on Dutch rural scenes, and the work contributes to the museum’s representation of late Enlightenment landscape art, documenting both artistic practice and regional livelihood of the period.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Hendrik Willem Schweickhardt (1747–1797) was an artist, born in Hamm.
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