Zittende vrouw met rijzweep 1832 - 1902

Karel Frederik Bombled created this etching of a seated woman holding a riding crop in the Netherlands sometime in the mid-19th century. The etching medium lends itself to the quick and informal capture of a fleeting moment. Consider how the image creates meaning. Her plain dress and simple hairstyle, together with the riding crop, are visual codes suggesting she is a woman of the upper classes at leisure. By the 19th century in the Netherlands, increasing wealth and stability meant that many people had more time for recreation. Leisure activities such as horse riding became important ways of demonstrating social status. We can use archives and social histories from this period to understand the shifting dynamics of Dutch society and how artists like Bombled sought to capture these changes through their art. The meaning of this artwork is not fixed; it's contingent on its social and institutional context, which is what makes it interesting to study as a historian.