Who painted Peasants with a Cart?

Peasants with a Cart was painted by Hans Burgkmair I in 1517.

Where can I see Peasants with a Cart?

Peasants with a Cart is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Peasants with a Cart?

Peasants with a Cart is associated with Renaissance.

Can I buy a print of Peasants with a Cart?

Museum-quality prints of Peasants with a Cart are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Peasants with a Cart

Hans Burgkmair I , 1517

Peasants with a Cart is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Hans Burgkmair I. It dates from 1517 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

Inscription: Inscribed:upper right: 110; by later hand, lower center in graphite: [undeciphered]

About this work

Overview

Hans Burgkmair I’s woodcut titled Peasants with a Cart dates from 1517. Executed on laid paper, the monochrome image records a rural labor scene: a group of figures maneuvering a laden cart through a forested landscape, accompanied by horses and a horn‑blowing rider.

Subject & Meaning

The composition presents a collective effort of agrarian workers, each dressed in long garments and hats, some bearing poles or tools. The central figure on the cart sounds a horn, perhaps to coordinate the pull of the horses, while the surrounding trees frame the arduous, muddy terrain.

Technique & Style

Burgkmair employed the woodcut process, carving the design into a wood block, inking the raised surfaces, and transferring the image onto laid paper. The stark black‑and‑white contrast and the linear, somewhat coarse rendering are characteristic of early 16th‑century printmaking, a medium valued for its reproducibility.

History & Provenance

Created in the early Reformation period, the print reflects the era’s interest in depicting everyday life. While specific ownership records are scarce, the work survives in several museum collections, attesting to the durability of woodcut prints and their circulation among early modern audiences.

Context

The image aligns with Burgkmair’s broader output, which often combined genre scenes with detailed natural settings. In the early 1500s, woodcuts served both decorative and didactic purposes, disseminating visual narratives to a literate and illiterate public alike.