Boerin met een roemer - Matthijs Pool

A detailed etching by Matthijs Pool depicting a peasant woman with a wine glass, framed in an oval with Latin inscriptions.

This etching by Matthijs Pool depicts a seated peasant woman holding a roemer, a traditional glass vessel used for wine. The composition is framed within an oval, a common device in Dutch printmaking that directs the viewer's focus to the central figure. The woman is shown in a moment of leisure, her expression jovial and her posture relaxed as she sits in a simple wooden chair. The surrounding stonework texture provides a subtle contrast to the soft folds of her clothing.

Pool, an engraver active in Amsterdam, demonstrates technical precision in his handling of light and shadow. The cross-hatching techniques define the volume of the figure and the depth of the interior space. The Latin inscription, 'Ignis hic amoris suscitat ignes', translates to 'This fire of love kindles fires', adding a layer of allegorical meaning to the scene. Such works often served as moralising commentary or social observation, reflecting the interests of the Dutch public in the early eighteenth century.

This print captures the character of the subject through careful attention to detail, from the texture of the glass to the worn appearance of the chair. The inclusion of text at the base of the frame provides context, typical of the period's print culture where visual imagery and written word were frequently combined to convey specific messages. The work remains a clear example of the genre traditions that persisted in the Netherlands long after the height of the seventeenth-century masters.