Moeder en kind in lompen 1832 - 1873

Wilhelmus van Oudendorp made this lithograph, 'Mother and Child in Rags', in the Netherlands in the mid-19th century. It depicts a woman and child, presumably a mother and her baby, dressed in ragged clothes. The woman has a sorrowful look on her face. The image speaks to the social conditions of the Netherlands in the 1800s. The country was undergoing significant changes, and there was a large wealth gap between the rich and the poor. Through this heartrending image, Oudendorp is speaking to the reality of poverty in the Netherlands. The woman's bare feet and tattered clothing underline the desperate circumstances that many found themselves in, while the child, swaddled in cloth, represents innocence and vulnerability. For the social art historian, this image invites us to ask about the institutions that support the poor and the nature of social reform movements in the Netherlands at this time. Contemporary records, newspapers, and pamphlets are a good place to start.