Rokende boerin met pijp en test 1696 - 1727

Matthijs Pool created this print of a peasant woman with pipe and tinderbox in the Netherlands, sometime in the late 17th or early 18th century. It’s a carefully staged image that gives us a glimpse into the popular culture of the time. The woman depicted is idealized. She is caught in a moment of private amusement. The text on the print mocks her simple pleasures. It reads, "Griet, why do you laugh? Griet, what are you doing with that box? You will soon scratch the soot from your nose." The inscription indicates the social class of the woman, as does her headscarf. The artist is playing on stereotypes about the lower classes and creating a work for a middle-class audience. Prints like this one were often made as part of larger series, and sold to collectors or pasted into albums. The Rijksmuseum's own records, along with other archives of printed images, can help us to understand the context and meaning of this work. It helps us to understand the social structures and attitudes that shaped its creation.