Vrouw met een stoof, twee mannen bij een landshuis en een man met manden c. 1648 - 1687

This sketch, by Harmen ter Borch, was made with pen in brown ink and depicts a woman with a stove, two men at a country house, and a man with baskets. Let us look at this man with baskets, a figure laden with burdens, both physical and symbolic. This image carries echoes of ancient figures like Atlas, condemned to bear the weight of the world. The basket upon his head is not merely a container, but a symbolic weight—the burdens of labor, societal expectation, and the endless cycle of sustenance. The act of carrying, a motif recurring throughout art history, from ancient Egyptian porters to Renaissance allegories of labor. The stooped posture and strained gait mirror the emotional weight carried by individuals throughout the ages. The image evokes a deep, subconscious recognition of shared human experiences. The reappearance of this motif, echoing through centuries, speaks to the cyclical nature of human experience—the weight of existence, perpetually shifting yet eternally present.