Vrouw met een korenschoof bij een man in een zomerlandschap 1625 - 1635

This image, titled "Vrouw met een korenschoof bij een man in een zomerlandschap," or "Woman with a Sheaf of Grain with a Man in a Summer Landscape," is an engraving. The incised lines create a scene of rural life. The engraver would have used a tool called a burin to carve lines into a copper plate, a labor-intensive process requiring great skill and control. The density of the lines determines the tonal range of the image, creating areas of light and shadow. The resulting print is a testament to the engraver’s technical expertise, and also serves as a visual record of agrarian life, possibly reflecting social and economic realities of the time. The labor involved in the engraving process mirrors the labor depicted in the scene itself. By focusing on the materiality and production of this print, we can appreciate the skill and effort involved in its creation, and understand it as a reflection of the values and concerns of its time.