Boeren liefdespaar 1521 - 1599

This print called "Boeren liefdespaar" or "Peasant Love Couple" was made anonymously in the Netherlands, though it is hard to know when. The image is made with etching and depicts a couple in an embrace in a rural setting. The artist, though unknown, was making this image for a public audience. The style is somewhat rough, which may reflect the intended audience and subject matter of the image. The couple are presumably peasants and the image may be poking fun at the relationship between country folk. We can't be entirely sure what was in the mind of the artist. If we want to better understand it, one thing we could do is to look at the history of visual satire of rural life and its audiences. The institutions of art can only help us so much: We need to better understand the society that this art comes from.