Two Ladders c. 17th century

Editor: Here we have Allart van Everdingen's "Two Ladders," an etching housed at Harvard Art Museums. There is an openness and rawness that I feel from this image. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a reflection of the 17th-century Dutch fascination with the everyday. How does this image of rural labor, juxtaposed against the skeletal structure of the house, comment on the period's social fabric? Editor: It's interesting to consider the laborers in their environment, almost like a snapshot of daily life. Curator: Exactly! And it makes you wonder, who was this art for? Editor: That's a perspective that totally reframes my view of the print. Thank you!