Ung dame i tyrkisk kostume med halvmaske i hånden 1746 - 1828

C.A. Lorentzen made this drawing of a young woman in Turkish costume with a half mask in hand using pencil on paper. Notice how the gray tones create a soft, almost dreamlike atmosphere. The composition centres on the woman, her face and hands rendered with delicate lines and subtle shading, while the background remains an undifferentiated space. This contrast focuses our attention, emphasizing her thoughtful expression and the symbolic weight of the mask she holds. The mask itself is a signifier, it raises questions about identity and disguise. Is she about to hide behind a persona, or has she just removed it? The Turkish costume adds another layer, evoking the exotic and the theatrical. Lorentzen uses these elements not just to depict a woman, but to explore themes of representation, performance, and the construction of self through visual codes. The drawing challenges fixed meanings, inviting us to consider how identity can be both fluid and constructed.