Boerenerf met kippen before 1855

Joseph Hartogensis created this print titled ‘Boerenerf met kippen’ – or Farmyard with chickens – sometime in the mid-19th century. It’s a simple scene – chickens peck around a farmyard under the shade of some trees. The print gives us insight into the art market and the collecting habits of the time. Hartogensis was part of a circle of artists in the Netherlands who produced these kinds of images, sometimes very small in scale, for a growing middle class with money to spend on art. The etching medium allowed for multiple reproductions to be made quickly and cheaply. Rural scenes like this were popular because they idealized the countryside as a refuge from urban life. Prints like this were often collected in albums, so we should think of it less as a singular art object and more as a commodity, a product of an expanding art market. Understanding this image fully means looking into the economic and social conditions that made its production possible. Research into the art market, collectors, and the artist's biography would provide further insight into its creation and meaning. Art history is about understanding art’s place in the world.