Heer staand op een rivieroever tegenover een stad 1648 - 1677

Harmen ter Borch created this pen and brown ink drawing of a figure standing on a riverbank opposite a city sometime in the 17th century. It appears to be a tranquil Dutch scene from the Golden Age. But there is a sharp class divide in the Netherlands at this time, which Ter Borch would have been well aware of. Ter Borch’s drawing speaks to this social structure in a number of ways. The figure in the foreground is portrayed in expensive clothing, a stark contrast to the working people toiling in the background. This image is a commentary on Dutch society and perhaps a critique of it. To understand images like this fully we need to draw on a number of resources; not only art criticism, but also social and economic histories, and the history of Dutch institutions during its Golden Age. The meaning of art always depends on its social context.