Standing Donkey 1632 - 1653

Karel du Jardin made this small drawing of a donkey using pen in gray ink and gray wash. This sketch gives us insight into the hierarchy that existed in seventeenth-century Dutch society. Animals were crucial to the Dutch economy as they were used for agricultural work. A drawing such as this would act as a reminder of this to those who lived in cities. Although, the Dutch Golden Age was a time of great economic and artistic prosperity, this wealth was built on the backs of working animals and the laboring poor. This drawing would have been displayed in the home of a wealthy merchant. Art historians consult period documents to see how people thought about the social structure of their time.