Staande man met stok, naar links, van opzij gezien 1770 - 1825

This red chalk drawing of a standing man with a stick was made by Simon Andreas Krausz, likely in the late 18th or early 19th century. Krausz was working at a time when art academies across Europe were standardizing artistic training and promoting certain styles and subjects. This drawing, however, feels more like a quick study or informal sketch than a finished academic work. The figure's simple clothing and the walking stick suggest someone from the working classes, not the aristocratic or bourgeois subjects typically favored in academic art. Could this be a subtle commentary on the social hierarchies of the time? Or perhaps it reflects a growing interest in the lives of ordinary people, a theme that would become more prominent in later art movements. To understand Krausz's intentions fully, we might look at the broader context of Dutch art and social history during this period, exploring the rise of democratic ideals and the changing representation of class in art.