Herder met een kudde schapen c. 1876 - 1888

Anton Mauve created this sketch of a shepherd with a flock of sheep, using a pencil on paper, during a period when landscape art was gaining prominence, reflecting a changing relationship between society and the natural world. Mauve's work often romanticizes rural life, yet it’s important to consider whose experiences are centered in these idyllic scenes and who is often left out. The shepherd represents a traditional masculine figure, his identity tied to the land and manual labor. Meanwhile, women's labor in rural settings is often rendered invisible. Mauve himself came from a middle-class background and aligned with the Hague School, which focused on realism in a way that frequently obscured the harsh realities of rural poverty. How do the soft lines and gentle composition invite us into a peaceful scene, and how might that peace belie the socio-economic struggles inherent in agricultural life? This sketch offers a moment of pastoral beauty but also prompts us to consider the complex interplay of gender, class, and representation in 19th-century Dutch art.