Schets van het hoofd van een boer c. 1656 - 1657

Moses ter Borch made this sketch of a farmer's head with pen in the mid-17th century in the Netherlands. In the Dutch Golden Age, the common man was not usually the subject of portraiture, so this sketch may have been a study for a larger history painting. At this time, the Dutch Republic was a mercantile empire, but also a highly stratified society. Artists often responded to this social tension by making art that was either overtly political or subtly subversive. The Rijksmuseum, where this drawing is housed today, was founded in the late 19th century to chronicle Dutch history. It is interesting to consider how an image such as this would have functioned differently in Ter Borch's time versus our own. To understand the role of this drawing within Ter Borch's artistic output, one could look to the museum's collection of prints and drawings, as well as consult 17th-century inventories to understand the context of artistic patronage in the Dutch Republic.