Vier vrouwen in een naaiatelier aan het werk 1866 - 1910

Armand Heins created this print of four women in a sewing workshop in Belgium at the end of the 19th century using a variety of techniques, including etching and aquatint. Images like this depicting working-class life were gaining popularity at this time. The print has a documentary feel but it also reflects the broader social concerns in Europe surrounding industrialization and the role of women in the workforce. Heins, who attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, would have been attuned to the social realism movement of the time, a movement concerned with representing the lives of ordinary people and commenting on social inequalities. The choice of a sewing workshop as a subject, rather than a grand historical or mythological scene, signals a deliberate shift towards representing the contemporary world and invites the viewer to consider the economic and social realities of these women. To understand this work more fully, we can turn to historical archives, economic data, and sociological studies that explore the working conditions and social status of women in Belgium during this period.