Drie boeren bij een venster 1636 - 1679

This is an etching by Frans van den Wijngaerde, depicting three peasants at a window. The window itself is a powerful symbol. Here, it frames a slice of life, common folk in a moment of repose, or perhaps revelry. Windows have long been used in art as thresholds, mediating between the internal and external worlds. Think of Renaissance paintings where windows offer glimpses of distant landscapes, hinting at broader possibilities. In earlier religious art, light streaming through windows symbolized divine illumination, a concept that shifts here to secular enlightenment. Consider too, how the faces at the window echo the 'sic erat scriptum' theatrical masks of comedy and tragedy, hinting at the range of human experience. This image invites us to reflect on how we, like those peasants, seek connection and understanding, peering out at the world from our own enclosed spaces.