a Family Group in a Garden 1634

Hendrick Avercamp made this drawing of a family group in a garden using pen and watercolor. It depicts what we might call the nuclear family, yet it also signals a particular kind of social organisation characteristic of the Netherlands in the early 17th century. We are drawn to the rendering of textiles in the clothing, and how they indicate social status. The crisp ruffs and elegant hats denote that the people in the drawing are upper class. This was the time when the Dutch East India Company was becoming a powerful force in global trade and a new merchant class was emerging. What do domestic scenes such as this tell us about the social values and conditions that shape artistic production? It’s by researching costumes and the history of Dutch trade through sources such as journals and ledgers that we can more fully understand the image as part of its time.