Zittende figuren c. 1889 - 1891

Antoon Derkinderen created this sketch of seated figures using graphite on paper. The work suggests an interest in the human form and its possible arrangements in a composition, something central to the tradition of academic art training, inherited from the Renaissance, that was still very influential in Europe at this time. Derkinderen was Dutch, living between 1859 and 1925, a period of social change and institutional transformation across Europe. As such, it's important to consider the status and function of art academies at the time, as well as the impact of new aesthetic movements such as Impressionism and Symbolism. What interests me in the sketch is what it might tell us about the artist’s working process as well as how it relates to his broader social context and artistic development. To understand the meaning of art we have to be aware of how society and its institutions shape the production and reception of art.