Houthakker aan het werk in het bos 1830 - 1910

Lambert Jacquelart made this print of a woodcutter at work sometime in the 19th century. It shows a figure standing in a forest clearing next to a felled tree, with cut timber stacked nearby. The image is a window onto a changing world. As the industrial revolution gathered pace in the 1800s, the lives of ordinary people were transformed. Many rural workers migrated to towns and cities to find employment in new factories. Others, like the figure in Jacquelart's print, remained in the countryside but found their traditional ways of life threatened by new technologies. The print invites us to reflect on the social and economic forces that shape artistic production. By studying sources such as census records, trade directories, and newspaper articles, we can gain a deeper understanding of the historical context in which this image was made. Art is never created in a vacuum. Its meaning is always contingent on the society in which it is produced and consumed.