Schoenmaker in zijn werkplaats 1796

W. Barthautz made this watercolor called "Shoemaker in his Workshop." It depicts a shoemaker at work, while a young boy occupies himself by the window. The image invites us to consider the role of labor and leisure in the social fabric of the time, maybe the late 18th or early 19th century. The shoemaker, absorbed in his craft, embodies the value of skilled labor within the household economy. Meanwhile, the child's presence highlights the interweaving of work and family life. We get an insight into the social hierarchies of labor, where one generation learns the trade from another. The building's architecture, with its window, and stone walls, might be emblematic of its institutional setting, perhaps as a trade school. To delve deeper, research into guild systems, family economies, and the social history of labor would enrich our understanding of this image. The artwork reflects the values and structures that shape society, something we historians seek to uncover.