Staande Alfoerse vrouw c. 1837 - 1854

Ernest Alfred Hardouin made this watercolor drawing, titled 'Standing Alfoer woman', in the 19th century. At first glance, we are confronted with the image of an indigenous woman. But what is it that we are really seeing? During the 1800s, European artists frequently depicted people from colonized lands. These images often perpetuated a Western view of the world that reinforced racial hierarchies. The woman's serene pose and the artist's attention to detail invites the viewer to contemplate her physical appearance. Yet this artistic interest served to reinforce the colonial gaze. Consider the absence of context: where is she, what is her story? What does it mean to represent a person from a culture not your own? To truly understand this artwork, we must look to sources from that time: colonial archives, travelogues, and the voices of the colonized themselves. By exploring these resources, we can move beyond the surface and grapple with the complex history embedded within this image.