Man met een grote mand op zijn hoofd, van achteren 1649

Harmen ter Borch created this small drawing, "Man with a large basket on his head, from behind," using pen in brown and gray on paper. The material itself is unassuming. Unlike oil paint, with its capacity for lush illusionism, here we see simple strokes. The translucency of the paper allows the light to pass through and emphasize the drawn lines, which capture a mundane scene of labour. Ter Borch reduces the figure to its essence: bent legs in motion, hunched shoulders bearing weight. The strokes denote musculature and strain. The basket on the man's head speaks to wider social contexts of labor and class. The weaving of the basket itself is a process of repetitive, manual construction. We don't know what is inside, but the sheer size suggests the man is carrying either for trade, or perhaps sustenance. In either case, the small drawing encapsulates a world of work, and reminds us that art can be found in the humblest of materials and the most quotidian subjects.