Schrijvende vrouw 1834 - 1911

Editor: So, this is Jozef Israëls’ "Schrijvende vrouw," from somewhere between 1834 and 1911, housed here at the Rijksmuseum. It looks like a quick sketch, pencil on paper. It has a very intimate feel. What draws your attention when you look at this piece? Curator: The directness of the pencil is what strikes me first. No layers of varnish, no gilded frame to elevate it. This is raw material, the initial thought process laid bare. How was this paper sourced? What type of pencil did Israëls use? Was this sketch intended as a finished work, or a preparatory study, a record of labor toward a future saleable product? These questions inform our understanding of the artistic production of the time. Editor: That's interesting, I hadn't really thought about the materials in that way. So, its value lies partly in its connection to the process of art-making itself? Curator: Precisely. Consider the labor implied in the act of writing. Who was this woman? What would she be writing about? The artist is depicting an everyday act as work, but the very act of sketching immortalizes the sitter, who may not be wealthy or powerful in her lifetime, to have their form persist across time through the act of writing as the drawing does through the artist's rendering and pencil strokes. Editor: It makes you consider all the unseen labor involved. Curator: Exactly! And it prompts a crucial discussion: what does it mean to produce art, and how does its material nature reflect and shape the social and economic realities of both artist and subject? Is this work “finished”? What does ‘finished’ mean in the context of 19th century dutch art and who decides what that is? Editor: I see your point. I think I have a deeper appreciation for these 'quick' sketches now! It has so much potential once you consider all these aspects of the work!