Drie katoenververs 1868 - 1892

Anthon van Rappard made this drawing, Three Cotton Dyers, with pencil on paper in the Netherlands at the end of the nineteenth century. The subject matter here is the industrial labour process. Rappard has sketched the workers with a sympathetic eye, showing respect for their occupation. The Netherlands at this time was undergoing a period of industrialisation that led to massive social changes. We can read this image as a comment on the changing nature of work and class relations in Dutch society. Rappard was interested in how the art institution could serve the public good, often depicting working-class people as a way to bring attention to their issues and lives. Further research, using sources from social history, can reveal a great deal about the cultural and institutional context of such images.