Vrouw op chaise-longue zittende c. 1780 - 1849

Curator: So here we have "Vrouw op chaise-longue zittende," or "Woman seated on a chaise lounge," a pen and ink drawing by David-Pierre Giottino Humbert de Superville, dating somewhere between 1780 and 1849. It’s part of the Rijksmuseum's collection. Editor: My first thought? Relaxed, maybe even a little bored. There’s something languid about the line work. Almost like the artist was sketching a dream. It feels intimate and yet distant. Curator: It’s interesting you pick up on the intimacy, given the academic approach to the nude figure during the Neoclassical movement. These works were often studies intended to display the artist's command of anatomy. It does show the woman lounging, rather than actively posing. I wonder what we can read into the gaze and the gesture of her hand. Editor: Good point, the gaze! She looks away, inward. Like she’s not performing for anyone, definitely not the male gaze, so that immediately changes everything. It becomes a private moment, not just a display of technical skill. Makes you wonder who *she* is and what's on her mind. What is the chaise lounge about, anyway? Is she rich? Bored? Sick? Dreaming? Curator: I agree it decenters that historically dominant interpretation! This could certainly relate to the artist's personal beliefs regarding equality or just a unique study of an interesting muse. The presence of a vase feels particularly salient here, with the draped fabric adding to an ambiance of privacy and opulence. We might consider it from a materialist perspective; How do material comforts play into a larger social structure that would surround her role? Or more directly: Does she have agency? Editor: Yes, and this very raw image begs questions about authenticity. You’re not supposed to see these kinds of personal expressions by the academic-types! But then, does the line work mean that the "realness" comes off as sloppy or even uncaring. What is he really trying to share with this vulnerable medium and portrayal? It almost doesn't fit into the typical structure; what does this piece tell me as an artist about art and womanhood at the time? Curator: Right! Ultimately this pen and ink study prompts further discourse concerning gendered performance, viewership, artistic style and context. The line blurs as we see something beautiful created, a neoclassical, artistic representation, yet very contemporary ideas in an intimate context of its own, created for art and the gaze as we now re-imagine and interpret. Editor: Agreed. Now I want a chaise lounge. And time to dream.