Een muilezel 1778 - 1839

Hendrik Voogd sketched this mule with pencil on paper at an unknown date. He was one of many Northern European artists who traveled to Italy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is important to remember that Rome, at this time, was a city of ruins as well as of great art. It offered itself as a living museum for artists from around Europe, who were supported by their national academies as well as by a thriving tourist trade. We know that Voogd was part of a Dutch artistic community based around the Caffè Greco, and he likely made this drawing as practice. The mule may have simply been a typical animal found in the streets of Rome. But we might also interpret Voogd's sketch as commenting on the working conditions of humans and animals, since mules at that time were commonly used for labor. Further research into the artist's biography, and the economic history of Rome at the time, would help us to know more.