Skipper 

Rik Wouters created this drawing, Skipper, with ink on paper. The sketch offers a glimpse into the social fabric of early 20th-century Belgium, a period marked by rapid industrialization and evolving class structures. The subject, possibly a worker, leans into his task, revealing a sense of labor and perhaps the social stratification inherent in Belgian society at the time. Wouters, who was trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, would have been aware of academic conventions and the social function of art as a reflection of cultural values. Was he critiquing the social order or simply capturing a moment in time? By examining the cultural and economic conditions of Wouters' Belgium, and looking into archival sources, we can better understand the role of art in shaping and reflecting societal norms.