Bebaarde man met een kruik 1863

Willem Linnig the Younger created this etching of a bearded man with a jug in 1863. Produced in Belgium, it is reminiscent of 17th century Dutch genre painting, which often depicted common people in taverns or domestic settings. Linnig came from a family of artists, and their work reflects the conservative artistic tastes of the Belgian upper classes in the mid-19th century. This etching is interesting because it comes at a time when some artists began to challenge traditional artistic conventions and the elitist institutions that supported them. The image is not overtly political, yet we might ask ourselves whether Linnig’s conscious revival of an earlier style was intended to offer a conservative vision of society. To investigate this further, we could research the Belgian art world of the time, looking at exhibition reviews and other archival documents. This will help us see how artworks like this one were viewed in their original context.