Drinkende boer bij een hooiwagen 1815 - 1860

Abraham Hendrik Winter created this print of a drinking farmer by a hay wagon in the Netherlands in the first half of the 19th century. It depicts a farmer pausing from his labor to take a drink, offered to him by a woman. The image speaks to the social realities of rural life in the Netherlands during this period. We can assume the piece makes a comment on the labor of the countryside. It shows the realities of agricultural work, and the social roles within that world, for example, the expected gender roles. This etching also represents a Dutch fascination with rural life. Through local historical societies and archives, as well as museum collections, we can get a better understanding of the social and cultural context of this artwork. This print serves as a reminder that art is not created in a vacuum, but is deeply embedded in the social and institutional context of its time.