Weg durch den Wald an einem Gehöft vorbei, vorn ein ruhender Bauer und Bäuerin mit ihren Körben 

Hermanus van Brussel’s watercolor drawing captures a scene of rural life with figures resting by a path. Van Brussel was working in the Netherlands, probably in the late 18th or early 19th century. The image is interesting for its depiction of peasants at leisure. It’s unlikely that the artist was himself a member of the peasant class, and the view he offers us might be considered to be filtered through the eyes of someone from the city. In this light, the drawing can be seen as participating in the development of the picturesque. That is, it’s a view designed to evoke a feeling in the viewer. The peasants and their labor are essential to the scene, but the drawing is not really about them. Instead, it's about an idealized vision of a rural landscape. This vision served a social function. It allowed urban elites to project their desires onto the countryside. Art historians will study these kinds of images along with other cultural and historical documents to better understand this period.