Paard dat een slee trekt c. 1633 - 1634

Gerard ter Borch sketched this image of a horse pulling a sled with pen and brown ink in the 17th century. The artist utilized a technique of quick, fluid lines to capture the scene before him, demonstrating a mastery of draftsmanship. However, it’s the subject of this drawing, not just the style, that I find compelling. Look closely, and you’ll see that the horse is straining against its harness, legs extended, body leaning forward. The man, presumably the horse’s owner or handler, is also captured mid-action with a whip in his hand, urging the horse forward. It is the shared labor of man and beast. The barrel on the sled suggests trade and commerce, the lifeblood of the Dutch Golden Age in which Ter Borch lived. This sketch reminds us that art doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s intertwined with the social and economic realities of its time. By considering the material, the process, and the context, we can appreciate how art reflects and comments on the world around us.