Boer met schoffel, mand en kip 1623 - 1630

This is Ludwig Büsinck’s ‘Boer met schoffel, mand en kip’, made with engraving around the start of the 17th century. Büsinck made this print during a time of stark social stratification in Europe. Here, the figure of the farmer embodies the labor and rural life so essential to society, yet often overlooked. Büsinck captures the farmer mid-stride, laden with the tools of his trade and the literal fruits – or chickens – of his labor. There’s a sense of weight to his figure, not just from the objects he carries, but from the burden of his position in the social hierarchy. The artist elevates the farmer to the subject of the artwork. Rather than being a faceless entity he becomes an individual with his own story. Yet, he maintains his traditional representation as a worker, and a producer of goods. This engraving asks us to consider the lives and contributions of those whose labor sustains us, reminding us of the inherent dignity in even the most humble of occupations.