Vrouw met kind bij een boerderij c. 1780 - 1840

Carel Lodewijk Hansen created this etching of a woman and child by a farmhouse in Drenthe. Hansen lived through a period of significant political and social upheaval in the Netherlands, including the Batavian Revolution and the Napoleonic era. The image is a genre scene that reflects the rural life of the time, but it also subtly comments on the role of women and children in Dutch society. The woman is depicted carrying a heavy load, suggesting the burdens and responsibilities placed on women within rural communities. The child’s presence speaks to the cycle of life, as well as the economic realities of rural life. This quiet image opens onto the complex negotiations of gendered labor, generational continuity, and the intimate spaces where daily life unfolds. Hansen invites us to consider the weight of history carried in such ordinary scenes.