Lopende vrouw met mand, naar rechts, van achteren c. 1651

Harmen ter Borch created this quick sketch of a woman carrying a basket using pen in the second half of the 17th century. Ter Borch, working in the Dutch Golden Age, when the Netherlands was a major center of global trade, depicts a woman from the back, weighed down by her labor. Her posture, bent under the weight of the basket, speaks volumes about the physical demands placed on working-class women during this era. While Ter Borch came from a privileged background, his choice to depict this woman suggests an engagement with the lives of those often overlooked in the grand narratives of Dutch history. The anonymity of her representation—her face hidden from view—invites us to consider the countless untold stories of women whose labor sustained the booming Dutch economy. It reminds us that beneath the surface of prosperity were complex social dynamics and hidden labor.