Twee staande vrouwen met parasols c. 1799 - 1900

Egbert van Gorkum created this drawing, "Twee staande vrouwen met parasols," using graphite. The drawing depicts two women, likely of the Dutch middle class, navigating their world with the sartorial armour of bonnets, gloves, and parasols. What do we make of their demure gazes, their bodies obscured and protected? Their posture seems to suggest a performance of femininity. The parasols held by the women don't merely shield them from the elements, they act as symbols of status and respectability, carefully cultivated in the face of societal expectations. Are these women contained by the very structures that seem to protect them? The artist captures a moment in time, inviting us to reflect on the visible and invisible boundaries that shape these women's lives.