Bosgezicht met herders bij een herdershut 1619 - 1690

Anthonie Waterloo made this drawing, Bosgezicht met herders bij een herdershut, with pen in gray ink in the Netherlands. Waterloo worked in a period when Dutch artists and intellectuals were thinking about what it meant to be Dutch, and how to represent the uniqueness of the Netherlands. Looking at the image, we can see that the artist's visualization of the landscape and the ‘common man’ as virtuous and dignified, spoke to these concerns. The scene shows the life of idealized shepherds and the beauty of nature. They are not laboring, but relaxing peacefully. The scene is designed in such a way that the viewer is subtly invited in, using the trees as a frame. These observations are the result of the work of art historians, who spend their time researching the cultural and political history of the Netherlands and piecing together an understanding of what art meant at the time.