Landschap met ruiter en herder 1756 - 1817

Louis Bernard Coclers created this landscape with rider and herder etching sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. It presents a pastoral scene, common in European art of that time, but its style suggests a particular set of cultural values at play. The etching process allowed for the easy reproduction of images, catering to a growing middle class with an appetite for art. The scene itself, featuring a rider and herder, evokes a sense of rural life, perhaps idealized, but also reflective of the economic realities of the time, when land and agriculture were central to social structure. This image promotes a conservative vision of society by portraying a hierarchical social structure with the rider in a dominant position over the herder. To truly understand this work, we must look at the socio-economic context of the time, studying the dynamics between rural and urban life, and the influence of institutions in shaping artistic taste and production.