Boerenmeisje op klompen, ten voeten uit 1874 - 1925

This sketch by Jan Veth, titled *Boerenmeisje op klompen, ten voeten uit*, captures a peasant girl in clogs using delicate pencil strokes across the page. The composition, while simple, offers insight into Veth's structuralist approach to art. Notice how the artist destabilizes established meanings through line and form. There is a certain ambiguity; the figure is clearly rendered, yet the surrounding sketches and annotations suggest a fleeting study rather than a definitive portrait. Veth uses line to define the girl's form, clothing, and the heavy clogs grounding her to the earth. Her downcast gaze and the texture of her garments, achieved through varied pencil strokes, evoke both humility and a connection to the land. Here, the drawing functions as part of a larger cultural discourse, inviting viewers to consider the semiotic weight of the image, and question the values that underpinned rural life. It also underscores that meaning is not fixed but emerges through ongoing engagement and interpretation.