Zes verschillende figuren 1828 - 1839

Paulus Lauters made this sketch of six different figures in April 1828. Lauters’ studies of people in the Netherlands offer insight into the social fabric of the time. The print shows men and women across a range of ages and activities. The seated man is in a state of leisure and the woman next to him seems to be carrying out some kind of chore. Consider the rise of industrial capitalism at this time. Were new institutions needed to contend with the new economic order? How did social class and labor affect one’s day to day life? Works like this serve as invaluable resources for historians seeking to understand the daily lives of ordinary people in the 19th century Netherlands. By studying such images alongside archival documents, we can reconstruct a more complete picture of the past. Ultimately, the meaning of art is contingent on its social and institutional context.