Slapende man en ruiter c. 1620 - 1630

This is a small anonymous print, “Sleeping Man and Rider,” which belongs to a larger tradition of Dutch landscape imagery. Here, we see a traveler asleep, as his companion tends to his horse. In the distance, a figure is hunting. What’s interesting is the way this tiny image presents the land as both a site of productive labor and leisurely enjoyment. The print belongs to a time of enormous economic expansion in the Netherlands. The Dutch East India Company was at its height and Dutch ships dominated global trade routes. Newfound wealth led to investment in art, especially secular painting and prints for the home. You’ll notice the landscape here is tamed. There are no wild or threatening elements. This is a landscape under human control. Art historians often use trade records, probate inventories, and other archival sources to understand how artworks like these were produced, distributed, and received during this period.