Wadende vrouw 1828

This delicate etching by Anthonie Willem Hendrik Nolthenius de Man, dating from 1828, presents a woman wading through water. She carries a basket, her figure framed by a wide-brimmed hat and simple dress. The basket she carries is not just a container. Across cultures, baskets represent nourishment, provision, and the fruits of labor. Consider its echo in ancient harvest festivals, where laden baskets symbolized nature’s bounty. In other contexts, we have seen how they can be symbolic of domestic duties and feminine roles. The act of wading itself is a powerful motif. Water, often a symbol of purification and transition, suggests a crossing of boundaries, both literal and metaphorical. This image evokes a sense of timeless labor, an archetype of the working woman forever connected to the earth and its cycles, resurfacing in visual culture, each time imbued with new cultural weight.