Boerderij c. 1837 - 1865

Joseph Hartogensis made this etching of a farmhouse in the Netherlands sometime in the mid-19th century. The printmaking process allows for an incredible level of detail. The way the image is built from many tiny lines really echoes the hard work involved in agrarian life. It’s easy to imagine the labor needed to build the farmhouse, tend the land, and even construct the fence. These kinds of images were popular at the time. They spoke to people's nostalgia for rural life, even as industrialization drew them to cities. Hartogensis is reminding us of the value of hard work, and our connection to the land. Paying attention to the materials and the making helps us to see how art reflects social values. It also challenges us to consider the human effort behind every image, object, and structure.