Brand in de zoutketen te Arnemuiden, 7 juli 1802

About this artwork

Brand in de zoutketen te Arnemuiden, 7 juli 1802. Afbeelding van het begin van de brand, om 11 uur 's avonds. Rechts vluchtende en jammerende burgers en links een brandende zoutkeet. Het hout van de keet vliegt door de lucht en er slaan enorme vlammen uit de ramen van de keet. Op de achtergrond de contouren van zaagmolens.

Art Historical Context

### Brand in de Zoutketen te Arnemuiden, 7 juli 1802 Created by Dutch artist George Kockers in 1803, this stipple engraving vividly captures the outbreak of a devastating fire at the saltworks (zoutketen) in Arnemuiden, a coastal town in Zeeland, Netherlands, on the evening of July 7, 1802. Produced just a year after the event, it serves as a poignant historical record of a local industrial disaster during the early 19th century, when salt production was vital to the region's economy amid the turbulent Napoleonic era. The composition dramatically contrasts chaos and destruction: on the left, the inferno engulfs the wooden salt shed, with flaming timbers hurtling through the night sky and massive flames bursting from its windows. To the right, panicked citizens flee and wail in despair, while the shadowy outlines of sawmills loom in the background, evoking Arnemuiden's maritime-industrial landscape. Stipple engraving, Kockers' chosen medium, employs fine dots to build subtle tones and textures, lending a sense of immediacy and realism to the scene—ideal for disseminating dramatic news prints in an era before photography. At 277 × 367 mm, this work not only documents human vulnerability to fire in wooden industrial structures but also highlights community resilience in Zeeland's working-class heritage, offering visitors a window into forgotten episodes of everyday peril.