Two sleeping dogs 

Nicolaes Berchem made this drawing of two sleeping dogs in the Netherlands, sometime in the mid-17th century. While seemingly a simple animal study, this work reflects the rising fashion for pastoral scenes, which were in turn closely linked to emerging social and economic structures. The Dutch Golden Age saw an unprecedented rise in urban wealth and a corresponding desire amongst the newly rich merchant class for country estates. Artists like Berchem catered to this taste by producing idealized images of rural life. These images often featured carefully arranged landscapes populated with placid animals and picturesque peasants, subtly reinforcing notions of social order. In reality, the Dutch countryside was changing rapidly, with new agricultural techniques leading to increased productivity and dispossession for some rural workers. By examining estate records, agricultural reports, and other archival sources, we can understand how Berchem's seemingly innocuous drawing reflects the complex social and economic transformations of the time, reminding us that even the most bucolic images are shaped by social context.