Bretonse oude vrouw met kap c. 1895s - 1905s

Editor: Here we have Charles Cottet's "Bretonse oude vrouw met kap," created sometime between 1895 and 1905. It’s a pencil drawing, and it feels incredibly somber and intimate at the same time. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: What I see is Cottet engaging with the visual language of empathy and social commentary. Consider the context: late 19th, early 20th century, Brittany was idealized yet its people were often marginalized. How does Cottet’s rendering of this woman challenge or reinforce those dynamics? Does it romanticize her hardship, or does it offer a space for her dignity to be seen? Editor: I hadn't really thought about the potential for idealization. Her face is so worn. So you are saying we need to consider the gaze. Was Cottet objectifying this woman, or honoring her? Curator: Precisely! Think about who holds the power in the act of looking. Cottet, a male artist, portraying an older woman from a specific region. Where do you see agency in her depiction? Is it in her eyes, her posture, or perhaps in the very textures that make up her face? Editor: I think it's her eyes. They’re not pleading, but knowing. Like she’s seen a lot and isn’t easily impressed. It complicates my initial feeling of sadness. Curator: It resists simple sentimentality, doesn’t it? That’s where the political power lies – in allowing for the complexity of a human experience to be visible and un-redacted. Cottet offers us a portal into questioning representation itself. Editor: I'm going to look at sketches and drawings in a new way now! I never considered empathy and agency in quite this way before. Thanks for broadening my understanding! Curator: And thank you, this helps to bring relevant nuance to Charles Cottet's artistic intention!