Picking Apart Paintings

Choosing artifacts for this exhibit has not been an easy feat. We have had to not only be able to appreciate the art, but we have also had to find historical connotations in hidden passages to the past. Through paintings we have been able to substantiate the landscapes that Jasper Danckaerts meticulously described. Looking at these interpretations of history we have been able to contrast past and present representations of our beloved Brooklyn (not to be confused with Breuklen). Although James Ryder Van Brunt did not pull oysters out of the Gowanus in 1679, he was able to visualize the land Danckaerts explored. In the painting, the Gowanus is a serene environment for the business oriented Dutch who could pursue their passion in the crystalline water. Van Brunt depicted the Gowanus as a basin with potential for fertility, which was a virtue for the entrepreneurial Dutch.