Jager schiet haas en boer

About this artwork

Legaat van de heer F.G. Waller, Amsterdam

Art Historical Context

This delicate work on paper, created by Dutch artist Johannes Henderikus Morriën between 1865 and 1866, captures a lively rural scene titled “Jager schiet haas en boer” (“Hunter Shoots Hare and Farmer”). Measuring just 257 by 355 millimetres, the drawing likely depicts a moment of countryside drama in which a hunter takes aim at a hare, with a farmer caught in the action. Such subjects were popular in 19th-century Netherlands, reflecting the era’s continued fascination with everyday rural life and the changing relationship between humans and the natural world. Executed on paper, the piece probably served as a preparatory sketch or finished study, allowing the artist to explore light, movement, and narrative detail with immediacy. Morriën worked during a period when Dutch artists often blended realism with gentle storytelling, recording the rhythms of agrarian existence even as industrialisation began to transform the countryside. The drawing entered the collection as part of the generous bequest of F.G. Waller of Amsterdam, ensuring that this modest yet evocative glimpse of 19th-century Dutch life remains accessible to later generations of viewers.