Tuinman met schep over zijn schouder 1825 - 1835

Jean-Baptiste Madou made this print of a gardener with a shovel over his shoulder sometime in the 19th century. Madou worked during a time of significant social and economic change. The rise of industrialization led to a shift in class structures and labor practices. The image of a gardener, a figure close to the land, invites us to consider the changing relationship between labor and identity during this period. Is the gardener a celebration of rural life, or does it reflect a sense of nostalgia for a disappearing way of life? The gardener is named as being from Middelburg. This suggests a sense of regional or local identity, but also raises questions about the representation of labor and class within specific communities. The gardener, caught in a moment of labor, encourages us to reflect on the social and economic shifts that continue to shape our world. It's a reminder that the stories we tell about work are always tied to questions of who we are and where we belong.