Staande man in landschap 1594 - 1662

Gerard ter Borch I created this etching titled 'Standing Man in Landscape' sometime before his death in 1662. Ter Borch, the elder, lived through the religious and political upheaval of the early Dutch Republic, a period of immense transformation in the Netherlands. This small print depicts a lone man standing in a landscape. The man is turned away from us, his body obscured by a long cloak. He leans on a staff. His hat suggests a certain social standing, that of the bourgeois perhaps, out for a stroll. Prints like this one were popular and catered to the tastes of the burgeoning middle class. They reflect a society grappling with newfound wealth and independence. Ter Borch situates his figure in the landscape, giving visual form to a sense of individual identity set against the backdrop of a changing world. The man’s contemplative stance invites reflection on the viewer’s part. What does it mean to be an individual in this new social and political order?