Rustende familie bij een koe Possibly 1600 - 1660

Moyses van Wtenbrouck created this etching of a resting family by a cow in the Netherlands, around the 1630s. The scene is set within a peaceful landscape. At first glance, this intimate scene of familial relaxation, seems harmless, yet, it may be tapping into deeper questions around the social structures of its time. In seventeenth-century Dutch art, idyllic pastoral scenes were especially popular. There was a growth in cities and commerce but the imagery represented a longing for simpler rural life. But where do these images come from? Van Wtenbrouck and his contemporaries were products of artistic institutions, academies, and workshops that were tied into specific social and economic networks. Art historians can research the artist’s background, study similar works from the period, and investigate the social conditions that might have shaped their creation, thereby revealing the artwork’s hidden layers of meaning.