Boerin met een houten emmer 1834 - 1911

This is a pencil drawing by Jozef Israëls, now held at the Rijksmuseum, that depicts a woman carrying a wooden bucket. Look closely, and you will see that Israëls made no attempt to disguise his working process, but instead left the pencil lines visible. Consider the material reality of the objects depicted. On the one hand, you have the coarse materiality of the bucket, held together through woodworking and coopering. On the other hand, the figure embodies the labor of rural life. The burden she carries mirrors the weight of her existence. Israëls here seems less interested in academic polish, and more in giving testimony to a life of labor. The drawing acts almost like a news dispatch from the countryside. It gives us insight into the economic realities of the working class. By using something as simple as a drawing, Israëls bridges the gap between fine art and social commentary.