Landschap met vissers 1599

Antonio Tempesta created this etching, *Landschap met vissers*, which translates to *Landscape with fisherman*, sometime between the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Tempesta was an Italian artist whose career took off in Rome, where he became known for his battle scenes and landscapes. This landscape gives us a glimpse into the lives of working-class people of the time and it subtly hints at the social hierarchies within that society. The labor of fishing is front and center, and rendered with dignity. Note the figures wading into the water with nets and buckets, in stark contrast to the figures who are gathered around a fire cooking or trading. What does it mean to focus on labor? This work reveals a deeply layered snapshot of a community intertwined with their environment, making it impossible to ignore the human element within the broader landscape. It underscores the idea that every landscape is, in a sense, a portrait of the people who inhabit it.