Vrouwelijk naakt in een slaapkamer c. 1887 - 1892

Willem Witsen made this sketch of a female nude in a bedroom with charcoal on paper. During the late 19th century, the Netherlands experienced significant social and cultural shifts, including debates around morality and the role of women. The image carries meaning through visual codes associated with the representation of the female nude in art history. During the late 19th century, the art academy was still the main institution through which artists were trained. The question of whether women should be granted access to these institutions was much debated. Witsen produced this sketch around the 1880s, a period when women were starting to demand access to the nude as a subject matter. Understanding the complex interplay between artistic creation and social context is the task of the art historian. Primary sources, such as letters and exhibition reviews, offer a window into the past, allowing us to consider the artwork’s original reception and its potential to challenge prevailing norms.