Een vrouw die zich wast c. 1675 - 1755

This is "Een vrouw die zich wast", or "A Woman Washing Herself", made by Adrianus Canter Visscher with watercolor on paper. Look closely at the laid surface of the paper. The delicate translucence achieved with watercolor belies the labor involved in grinding the pigment, preparing the sizing, and executing such fine brushwork. The artist is working within a long tradition here, likely drawing on earlier Moghul painting techniques, in which the surface of the paper is burnished to create a smooth, ivory-like finish. The very act of painting became enmeshed with social and cultural significance, especially when deployed in the service of ethnographic depictions like this one. While the artist’s hand skillfully renders the scene, consider whose story is ultimately being told, and for what audience. The work asks us to consider the complex interplay between artistic skill, cultural representation, and the power dynamics inherent in the act of observation.