Jonge boer after 1635

This etching, titled "Jonge boer", or "Young Farmer," is by an anonymous artist and is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The artwork's stark contrast, achieved through a network of precise lines, immediately grabs our attention and establishes a somber mood. The lines form a young farmer carrying a basket. The figure is rendered with detailed cross-hatching, emphasizing the weight and texture of the clothing and basket. A stick offers support and a vertical counterpoint to the farmer's stooped posture. The formal structure here is not just descriptive; it is expressive. The use of line and tone signifies not just form but perhaps also the weight of labor. The basket, intricately detailed, becomes a central signifier – a symbol of toil, sustenance, and the cyclical nature of agricultural life. The young farmer, therefore, embodies the physical and existential burdens of his role, rendered powerfully through the artist's graphic precision.