Een stier en een koe in een weiland 1798 - 1837

Ernst Willem Jan Bagelaar etched this image of a bull and cow in a meadow in the Netherlands, likely sometime in the early 19th century. The image presents a vision of rural tranquility, but it also speaks to a particular social and economic order. In the Dutch Golden Age, livestock farming was crucial to the nation’s wealth. By the 19th century, the Netherlands was becoming increasingly urbanized, and images like this one reflected a nostalgic yearning for a disappearing way of life, even as agricultural practices were changing due to new technologies and market demands. The print medium itself is significant. Prints made art accessible to a wider audience, so this image circulated among people who were perhaps increasingly removed from rural life. To understand this artwork more fully, one might research the history of Dutch agriculture and landscape painting. Only through considering these factors can we understand the cultural values embedded within the image.