Naakte vrouw leunt over het boek van een door een vergrootglas lezende oude man 1884 - 1895

Curator: This is "Naakte vrouw leunt over het boek van een door een vergrootglas lezende oude man" created between 1884 and 1895 by Felicien Rops. It’s an etching with watercolor, currently residing here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: There's a compelling story being told here... A story with soft color washes, but definitely biting! There's a vulnerability juxtaposed with such critical, and possibly aged, scrutiny. I mean, is he even aware of her presence? Curator: Well, Rops, working firmly within the Symbolist movement, often used the female nude to represent societal critiques. It’s hard to miss. The contrast is jarring. We have the fragility of the nude figure positioned almost intrusively, leaning into the intensely focused gaze of this older man, perhaps representing patriarchal structures hyper-focused on their pursuits and perhaps unaware of the larger social and power dynamics. Editor: Exactly! The fact that she is literally looming over his shoulder, and his face is nearly pressed into the text as he examines it, perhaps through a magnifying glass no less! This evokes, for me, a sense of blindness, wilful perhaps, toward a presence demanding attention, wouldn’t you say? I suppose, what is he choosing to see versus choosing not to see? And what does the work say about those choices? Curator: I concur. The etching combined with watercolor is key too. Etchings allow for those precise, controlled lines, emphasizing the rigidity of the man, and watercolor creates a soft, ephemeral quality. It's like the figure, though visually present, is just on the verge of fading, illustrating a fleeting awareness, or more directly, her cultural worth is made inconsequential through this particular arrangement. Editor: A powerful point! So it goes from a seemingly voyeuristic, somewhat comical composition to an active commentary on the gaze, power dynamics, and, really, the fraught relationship between knowledge and societal roles during that period. He is immersed, perhaps imprisoned, by what is directly in front of him, choosing, perhaps, a mediated view of life at large, so he is both near and yet completely unaware. Curator: Precisely. This image continues to stir debates about societal imbalances. Editor: I suppose that's exactly why we are looking so intently at it now! Thanks for shedding light on such thought-provoking choices by the artist.