Oude man met wandelstok en tas over zijn schouder 1866 - 1910

Armand Heins created this print of an old man with a walking stick and bag slung over his shoulder, likely at the turn of the 20th century. The image presents a figure of working-class poverty, a subject that was very common in European art at this time. Notice how the image uses hatching and cross-hatching, which were typical of the printmaking techniques used to create tonal variation. The man's clothing, hat and boots are worn and heavy; his posture is stooped, the angle of his walking stick implying that he relies upon it heavily. We can understand this artwork better by asking what role images of working-class people played in Belgian society at the time. Were images like this meant to shock, or to comfort the middle classes that might purchase them? Digging into historical sources and the printmaking culture of the time will help to reveal the work's place in a broader culture.