Twee mannen met manden en een vrouw met een kind c. 1652

Harmen ter Borch created this drawing with pen in brown ink, now held at the Rijksmuseum. Notice the visual weight of the two men carrying what appear to be heavy baskets. This motif of burden-bearing echoes through art history, evoking ideas of labor, sacrifice, and the weight of human existence. Think of Atlas, bearing the world on his shoulders, a classical archetype symbolizing endurance and the struggle against overwhelming odds. Observe the woman in the center, cradling a child, a universal Madonna figure. The tenderness and vulnerability of the mother-child relationship is a recurring theme, embodying hope, protection, and the continuity of life. The image of a mother holding a child speaks to the deepest emotions and instincts. These figures, frozen in time, connect us to the cyclical nature of human experience, reminding us that these archetypes are continually re-enacted across time.