A Woman Standing next to a Chair 1750 - 1808

Nicolaas Muys made this drawing of a woman standing next to a chair with graphite on paper. Likely created in the Netherlands during the late 1700’s, the image depicts a woman in a modest cap and dress, seemingly paused in the middle of a quiet, domestic task. Muys was well known for portrait drawings, usually of wealthy merchants or members of civic institutions within Haarlem. The presence of this drawing in his wider body of work raises some important questions, however. Is this woman of the merchant class, as well? Or is she a maid, or perhaps even a member of Muys’s own family? The level of finish in the drawing suggests that it was intended as a completed artwork, rather than a preliminary sketch for a painting. To understand its original context and meaning, we could research how gender and class were represented in Dutch art of the 18th century, consulting period inventories, diaries, and letters. These resources would help us understand how the artist, and the Dutch art world, sought to establish a public role for this woman.