Autumn; Study for an Engraving 1570 - 1617

Hendrick Goltzius made this pen and brown ink drawing called 'Autumn; Study for an Engraving' in the Netherlands, sometime around 1600. It's an image that evokes the abundance of the harvest, but also speaks to the social hierarchy of the time. Goltzius presents us with a scene full of visual and cultural cues. On one hand, we see symbols of wealth and privilege in the figures with fine garments and a glass of wine. The image also presents rural labor; the woman picking apples, the farmers and livestock in the background. The cultural context of the Dutch Golden Age, with its burgeoning merchant class and global trade networks, certainly influenced this work. The Dutch Republic was also busy establishing its own artistic institutions. To really understand this piece, we can examine Dutch society at the turn of the 17th century. We might also look into the lives of artists like Goltzius, who navigated a changing art market. This image shows how art is very much embedded in a specific time and place.