Landschap met vee en boeren 1671

Paul van Somer II made this landscape with cattle and farmers as an etching. It is an image that reflects the values of the Dutch Golden Age. This work presents an idealised vision of rural life. Images like this were popular among the middle classes, who were keen to display their connection to the land and its traditions. This etching, like the others in the series, attempts to give rural life a classical flavour. The ruin on the right-hand side, with its classical urn, lends the scene a grandeur that belies the humble reality of farming. In reality, the economic conditions for farmers at the time were volatile, and the art market often acted as a buffer. To understand the piece more fully, one can research the economic history of the Netherlands in the 17th century. Such work helps us to understand how art is contingent on its social and institutional context.