Mark med en pige, der malker en ko, i baggrunden en gård omkranset af træer 1609 - 1685

This etching was created by Herman Saftleven in the Dutch Golden Age, a period of unprecedented economic growth and artistic production in the Netherlands. At first glance, the scene presents an idyllic view of rural life, with a milkmaid and cows in a peaceful landscape. But such images played an important ideological role in the 17th century. As Dutch cities grew into centers of global commerce, wealthy urbanites often purchased landscapes and pastoral scenes. Such art helped to construct a vision of the Dutch countryside as a source of national identity, moral virtue, and even political stability. Saftleven was based in Rotterdam, a port city that grew exponentially in this period. To further understand the values and anxieties of the time, one can look to sources like agricultural treatises, travelogues, and even tax records to further explore this etching.