Onderlichaam van liggende vrouw met hoge laarzen 1865 - 1930

This drawing, by Jac van Looij, presents us with a segment of reality, a study of a reclining figure, rendered with graphite on paper. The composition is fragmentary, focusing our attention on the lower torso and legs, cropped in a way that challenges traditional portraiture. The artist uses line and shading to define form, the strokes varying in intensity to suggest the play of light and shadow. This selective focus destabilizes conventional notions of beauty and representation, inviting viewers to consider the body not as a whole, but as a collection of shapes, textures, and lines. Looij's approach is not merely descriptive. It engages with the modernist project of fragmenting and reassembling reality, questioning the stability of identity and representation. The visible marks of the artist’s hand, the sketchiness of the lines, and the unfinished quality of the drawing all serve to remind us that we are looking at an interpretation, not a mirror image.