Handwerkende vrouw in een stoel c. 1904 - 1906

Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof made this drawing of a woman with animals with pencil on paper. It is now at the Rijksmuseum. Isn’t it interesting when an artist sketches the most domestic of scenes? I wonder if he was trying to capture a moment of quiet industry, or if the woman and her animal companions were simply what was there. The quality of the line is so delicate, almost tentative, especially in the rendering of the woman’s face. Did you notice the cat, perched on the chair back, almost mimicking the woman’s posture? Another cat sits on her lap! I can imagine Dijsselhof quickly capturing the scene before the moment was gone, before the woman or the animals moved. The drawing feels intimate, like a stolen glance into someone else’s world. Artists have always looked to the everyday for inspiration. From the Dutch Masters to contemporary painters, the exploration of daily life continues to offer us new ways of seeing and understanding ourselves.