To kvinder. Den ene spillende luth 1768 - 1771

C.A. Lorentzen sketched 'Two Women, One Playing a Lute' with pencil on paper. The faint lines suggest the figures in a soft, intimate setting. The woman with the lute is rendered with more clarity, the other, in comparison, is only lightly sketched. The composition is dominated by vertical lines of the woman's dresses which draw the eye upwards. The lute itself creates a circular form, contrasting with the angular lines of the sketched background. This interplay of forms and lines, combined with the absence of strong shading, creates an unfinished quality. It's tempting to read this work through a structuralist lens; the lute could be interpreted as a signifier of harmony or domesticity, but the sketch-like nature of the drawing destabilizes any fixed meaning. Instead, we can appreciate the formal qualities: the balance of line and form, the contrast between clarity and ambiguity, and the way Lorentzen prompts us to engage actively in the meaning making process.