Twee vrouwenhoofden, in profiel 1886 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of two women’s heads with a pencil on paper. Breitner was working in Amsterdam at the turn of the 20th century, a time of great social change as the city grew and modernized. But these sketches seem indifferent to that transformation. They are quiet, intimate studies, perhaps made in the artist's studio. They reflect the academic practice of sketching from life, which was central to the institutional training of artists at that time. The Rijksmuseum itself played a role in shaping artistic taste and promoting certain styles. The sketch is open to interpretation. Are the women presented as individuals, or as types? How does the artist's choice of medium and style affect our perception of them? Art historians might consult contemporary newspapers, photographs, and social surveys to understand the changing role of women in Dutch society at this time, and to place Breitner's sketch in its broader social and cultural context.