Liggend varken, in de hoek van een hok 1812

Jean Bernard made this drawing of a pig in a pen using graphite around 1812. It’s held here at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Bernard made this sketch at a time when the Netherlands was under French rule. Artists were encouraged to depict scenes of everyday life to promote a sense of national identity and cultural pride. But it’s not just a simple depiction of a pig. The artist is employing visual codes, such as the pig's seemingly vulnerable state, to evoke empathy and perhaps even challenge the viewer's perception of animals as mere commodities. Art historians often turn to agricultural records and social commentaries of the time to understand the cultural significance of livestock. We ask, how did the Dutch view their relationship with animals, and how did this influence the art they produced? Perhaps this artwork served as a subtle commentary on the social structures of its time.