Vrouw en jongen op klompen met een jute zak op het veld

Willem Witsen made this etching called 'Woman and boy on clogs with a jute bag in the field' sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. It depicts agricultural laborers in the Netherlands, likely working the land in harsh conditions. Witsen belonged to a group of Dutch artists called the Amsterdam Impressionists. These artists turned away from grand historical and allegorical paintings, instead focusing on everyday life and the local landscape. They were very aware of the social issues of their time and made the deliberate choice to depict modern Dutch life. Although the Impressionists were interested in everyday scenes, their paintings were not simple reflections of reality. Witsen likely would have sketched in situ, but the final image was made in his studio. We can learn much more about the socio-economic context by looking into records about the agricultural industry at the time, to get a clearer picture of what life was like for laborers in the Dutch countryside.