Paulus Constantijn la Fargue: The winding hole at Leidschendam (1756)

 

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

A painting by the Dutch artist Paulus Constantijn la Fargue (1729-1782). An important way of transportation in the Netherlands was the 'trekschuit' (literally 'tug-boat'), a horse-drawn boat. These ships functioned as public transport in the Netherlands with an extensive network linking all of the important Dutch cities. This painting shows a station for the trekschuit at Leidschendam. People could get on and of at these stations and it also served as a winding hole for the ship (a winding hole is a widened area of a canal, used for turning a boat). The eight-sided building on the left is the Dorpskerk, nicknamed 'the pepper-box'. Painting from 1756.