A Young Peasant Holding a Jar

Hans Sebald Beham concentrated on this man's costume, stance, and the implements that he carries, rather than individual facial features. In fact, the man's face is in shadow, partially obscured by the vertical hatching that continues down the right side of his body. The position of legs and arms, the tilt of the head that echoes the line of his extended foot, the doubled lines that emphasize the movement of the leg, and the curved surface of the jar and the cheeses on the ground display Beham's skill in depicting figures and three-dimensional objects. Beham produced numerous drawings and prints that included peasants going about their daily activities. This picture of a young peasant boy and its pendant showing a peasant woman carrying a jug were probably once on the same sheet of paper. Rather than having been made for a specific print, both images perhaps once formed part of a fund of stock types that Beham used in different combinations and poses in his numerous engravings and woodcuts of the poor.