Zittende vrouw met een kind aan de borst 1848 - 1888

Anton Mauve made this watercolour, ‘Seated Woman with a Child at Her Breast,’ in the late 19th century. Mauve delicately applied the watercolour to paper, allowing the inherent qualities of the medium, like its fluidity and transparency, to define the work's appearance. The washes of color create a soft, diffused light, focusing our attention on the figures and their tender interaction. The quick, loose brushstrokes suggest Mauve captured a fleeting moment, a snapshot of everyday life. But this seeming spontaneity shouldn't fool us. Mauve was part of the Hague School, a group of artists who sought to depict the lives of ordinary people with dignity and respect. In this context, the act of portraying a working-class mother breastfeeding becomes a statement about the value of labor and the realities of women's lives. By choosing watercolour, a medium often associated with sketching and preliminary studies, Mauve blurs the line between finished artwork and preparatory work. It prompts us to consider the labor involved in artmaking itself, and to look beyond the surface to find deeper meaning.