Vrouw met een strohoed en een emmer aan haar arm c. 1652

This drawing of a woman with a straw hat and bucket was created by Harmen ter Borch. The straw hat, a seemingly simple object, speaks volumes. Consider its presence throughout history, not merely as protection from the sun, but as a marker of rural life and labor. We see echoes of this figure in countless images of laborers throughout art history, each carrying their own burden, yet united by the universal experience of work. The bucket she carries, too, is more than a mere vessel. In ancient times, water was a sacred source of life, and the act of carrying water was imbued with ritual significance. Think of the water carriers in ancient Egyptian art, figures of sustenance. In Borch’s drawing, the woman’s downward gaze evokes a sense of contemplation, her posture a blend of weariness and resilience. Thus, Borch presents us not just with a woman, but with a timeless representation of the human condition, a figure whose symbolic weight resonates across centuries.