Omheinde boerderij met hooischuren c. 1631 - 1633

Gerard ter Borch sketched this enclosed farm with hay barns using pen and ink. The immediacy of the drawing tool lends itself to the depiction of rural life, and the relationship between land, labor, and community. The artist has a sharp sense for the way things are made, capturing the textures of woven fences and thatched roofs. The landscape is reduced to a series of lines, revealing the physical effort of farm work: the lines seem to mimic the movements of carrying, heaving, and stacking that defined agricultural life. The figures within the landscape give a sense of scale, and highlight the contrast between their labor and the artist's detached observation. The sketch provides a window into the relationship between artist and subject, a way to challenge traditional distinctions between fine art and everyday life.