Kind van Wilhelmus Johannes Steenhoff aan de borst van zijn moeder 1873 - 1932

Editor: This pencil drawing on paper, "Kind van Wilhelmus Johannes Steenhoff aan de borst van zijn moeder," which translates to "Child of Wilhelmus Johannes Steenhoff at his mother’s breast," from circa 1873-1932 and residing at the Rijksmuseum, has an intimate and almost fleeting quality to it. What historical insights can you glean from such a personal scene? Curator: It's a very direct representation of motherhood, but also something more, perhaps about societal expectations of family and artistic representation in that period. Mother-and-child depictions were a cornerstone of academic art, typically idealized and imbued with religious overtones. Considering its presence in the Rijksmuseum, how do you think it navigates its public role, being simultaneously intimate and presented in a space dedicated to national artistic heritage? Editor: That's a great point; it is now part of national artistic heritage, but as a drawing it seems more personal and is named with the full name of the depicted, like a historic register of elites. But, doesn't that candid style also democratize the image of motherhood? Is the "intimism" style more relatable to wider audiences as an almost "caught moment?" Curator: Perhaps. Though think about who "intimism" really catered to. Often, it was a wealthy bourgeois audience, people who could afford to value quiet, domestic scenes. By showing the raw act of nursing in pencil sketch—how might this be a deliberate choice by the artist in relation to other popular more formal portrayals of motherhood during the same time? Editor: So it could be challenging traditional expectations even within intimate art forms? Seeing it displayed today makes me reconsider who the work served then, and how those historical factors affect how we view it now. Thank you. Curator: Exactly. By situating this artwork in its historical context, we begin to unravel its complex role in reflecting and shaping societal values around family, privacy, and the public's consumption of personal imagery. I learned just as much from this analysis, so thank you as well.