Het Gehoor: zingende boer 1670 - 1709

Jacob Gole created this engraving, titled "Het Gehoor: zingende boer," sometime between 1660 and 1737. The print captures one of the five senses, portraying a singing farmer within a circular frame. The image reflects the complex social dynamics of the Dutch Golden Age, in which the lives of the working class became a subject of artistic exploration. Yet, the farmer is far from romanticized. Gole's farmer appears coarse and somewhat grotesque. His exaggerated features and tattered hat reflect the era's stereotypes about the working class. This was a society marked by rigid social hierarchies and persistent class anxieties. The farmer's act of singing connects him to the cultural world of music, but his unrefined appearance creates a tension. He is caught between the high art of music and the lowly status of rural labor. Ultimately, this tension asks us to consider who has access to culture and how social class shapes our perceptions.