Vrouwelijk naakt naast een bed c. 1887 - 1892

Willem Witsen made this drawing of a nude woman next to a bed with a pencil on paper. The sketchiness of the image suggests that it was made in preparation for a larger work, or simply as an exercise. Witsen worked in the Netherlands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was part of a group of artists known as the Amsterdam Impressionists, who were interested in capturing the fleeting moments of everyday life. At this time, academic art institutions prized realistic and idealized representations of the human body. However, the Amsterdam Impressionists and other artists were beginning to experiment with new ways of seeing and representing the world around them. This drawing reflects that shift, with its loose lines and focus on the immediacy of the artist's experience. Art historians use various resources to understand the social and institutional contexts in which art is made. By studying these contexts, we can gain a deeper appreciation of the meanings and significance of art.