Oude vrouw met een kruik 1720 - 1792

Aert Schouman made this print, "Old Woman with a Jug," sometime in the 18th century. It's a small image, but it speaks volumes about the social context of art in the Dutch Republic. The image presents an elderly woman, likely from the working class, carefully examining an ornate jug. In the 18th century Dutch Republic, the art market expanded beyond the traditional elites. Prints like this, though seemingly simple, participated in a broader cultural interest in everyday life and ordinary people. Schouman, as an artist, positions himself to profit from this cultural shift. To understand this image, we can research the print market in the 18th-century Dutch Republic, and ask whether it comments on the social structures of its time. By exploring these questions, we understand art not just as aesthetic objects, but as products of specific social and institutional forces.