Vrouw met hoofddoek, ten halven lijve 1811 - 1873

Pieter van Loon created this wash drawing called ‘Woman with Headscarf, Half-Length’ sometime in the first half of the 19th century. Van Loon was working in the Netherlands during a period of significant social and political change. The intimate scale and soft tonality of this drawing invite a close, almost reverential look. The woman’s eyes are closed, her expression serene, which may evoke feelings of quiet contemplation. The headscarf is a key element, common at the time, but also imbued with specific cultural and religious meanings depending on the wearer’s background. How does this depiction relate to the complex roles women held in 19th-century Dutch society, often confined to the domestic sphere yet central to the family's social standing? Consider how van Loon negotiates the boundaries between observation and interpretation, and how we, as viewers, project our own understandings onto this image.