Figuur bij een venster 1854 - 1914

This undated sketch by Albert Neuhuys shows a figure near a window, rendered simply in pencil. The window motif, seemingly straightforward, has deep symbolic roots throughout art history, representing not just a physical opening, but a threshold between worlds. Consider the Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, where the window signifies the presence of the outside world within the intimate setting of the marriage chamber. Or Caspar David Friedrich’s landscapes, where the window acts as a frame through which the Romantic soul gazes upon the sublime, infinite expanse of nature. This threshold motif carries psychological weight, embodying longing, introspection, and the interplay between inner and outer realities. In Neuhuys' sketch, the window's presence subtly evokes a sense of contemplation. It calls forth a connection to the broader tradition of windows as metaphors for human perception and emotional states.