Herdersjongen met een kudde koeien 1847 - 1889

This is William Unger’s etching, "Herder's Boy with a Herd of Cows," now at the Rijksmuseum. The image presents an arcadian scene. The composition is grounded in the arrangement of shapes and the dynamic use of light and shadow. Unger's manipulation of line and tone invites us to consider the scene through a structuralist lens. The artwork employs a semiotic system of signs, with cows, boy, and landscape functioning as coded elements within a pastoral narrative. Yet, the etching’s structure destabilizes any fixed meaning. The image is a constructed reality that challenges viewers to question the presumed innocence of pastoral life. The image is not a celebration but an interrogation of landscape and its cultural meanings. It encourages us to see the artwork not as a window onto a scene but as a mirror reflecting our own assumptions.