A Standing Woman Seen from the Back 1840 - 1850

Editor: This is "A Standing Woman Seen from the Back," a watercolor on paper from sometime between 1840 and 1850 by an anonymous artist, and it's currently at the Met. It’s kind of… intriguing. I mean, it’s just the back of a woman, but something about the intense blue of the skirt feels almost powerful. What do you make of this piece? Curator: Oh, I’m so glad you picked up on the blue! Isn’t it extraordinary? For me, this little watercolour feels like a secret whispered across time. Consider that back view: it's inherently intimate, a glimpse we usually don't get, right? And that blue… not quite celebratory, but dignified, self-contained. I wonder what she’s thinking, what she's looking at. Does that intrigue you? Editor: It does, actually! I hadn't thought about the intimacy of the back view. Is it common to see portraiture like this from this period? Curator: Not particularly, which is part of its charm. The Romantic era did value feeling and individual experience, and maybe this is a quiet rebellion against the formal, face-forward portraits of the time. A refusal to be defined by outward appearance. Do you sense a story being implied here? Editor: Maybe! I was so focused on the visual, I didn't even consider a narrative element. Curator: And that's the joy of it, isn’t it? A little unassuming watercolour, sparking endless questions. And maybe that's the story - the one we invent. It could be argued that this artwork exists only when somebody contemplates it, right now! Editor: So it really is about looking at art differently, maybe more intuitively. Thank you, that was really interesting.