Handwerkende vrouw 1658 - 1677

Wallerant Vaillant created this mezzotint, "Handwerkende vrouw," sometime in the 17th century, during the Dutch Golden Age. The artwork offers a glimpse into the domestic life of a bourgeois family. We see a woman engaged in needlework, a common domestic pursuit of the time, with two children beside her, each one a display of status through clothing and manner. Yet, this seemingly straightforward domestic scene is laden with the complexities of gender and class. The woman’s work, though domestic, played a crucial role in the family's economic stability, and reveals an aspect of labour that often goes unacknowledged. Consider the children, positioned carefully within the frame; they represent the family’s lineage and aspirations. In a society marked by rigid social structures, images like these served to reinforce societal norms, dictating the roles individuals were expected to fulfill based on their gender and class. This image becomes a poignant reflection on the intricacies of family life and social standing in 17th-century Netherlands.