Cow n.d.

This is "Cow," a pen, brown ink and wash drawing by Karel Dujardin made in the Netherlands in the mid-17th century. Images of animals were a popular genre in Dutch art at this time. The Dutch Republic had become a major economic power, with land reclamation projects enabling agricultural innovation. For city dwellers, images of cows and sheep offered a nostalgic view of the countryside. However, Dujardin's focus on the cow's ribs perhaps reminds us that the Dutch Golden Age relied on exploitative labour practices, not only at home, but also in its colonies. To understand this work better, we might consult shipping records, agricultural censuses, or even paintings of urban life. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context, and the art historian's role is to reconstruct that context.