Siddende frugtsommelig kone med korslagte arme, i profil til venstre 1743 - 1809

Curator: Immediately, I see vulnerability. The woman sits with crossed arms, a defensive posture, yet the lightness of the pencil sketch gives it a delicate quality. Editor: This is a drawing, "Siddende frugtsommelig kone med korslagte arme, i profil til venstre"—or "Seated Pregnant Woman with Arms Crossed, in Profile to the Left." Nicolai Abildgaard created it sometime between 1743 and 1809. It’s a pencil sketch on toned paper. Curator: Abildgaard was working in the period we now call Romanticism. The turn to interiority, the focus on emotion and the individual experience—it’s all there, even in what seems like a simple sketch. Editor: Consider the economics of drawing at the time. A relatively cheap medium allowed for exploration of form and expression outside the confines of more formal, commissioned works. And she's pregnant, right? That introduces the very real, physical labor that is often obscured in portraiture of women. Curator: Precisely. A finished portrait would likely have omitted the pregnancy, adhering to social conventions and ideals of feminine beauty. This sketch feels more honest, more intimate. Editor: And it being a pencil sketch suggests immediacy—this wasn't for public consumption but rather experimentation with line and form in service of depicting an existing body in front of him. The sketch itself bears witness to this artist at work, thinking and feeling through material means. Curator: You can see how Abildgaard uses light and shadow to model her form, particularly the drapery of her dress. The play of light gives it almost a sculptural feel despite being on paper. How it was made mirrors how it functions within the history of art production as a whole. Editor: And the tonal quality of the paper itself – it's not just a neutral ground. It provides an ambient depth from which the artist could explore shape in a subtractive as well as additive way. This affects our experience of how solid, and real she feels. Curator: Yes, the sketch feels incredibly grounded because the social conventions and economic realities become more tangible. That creates something deeply affecting in its truthfulness. Editor: I agree. I've really noticed the labor, but also the economy of gesture contained within the work here. Curator: And that interplay brings her into the context of Romanticism in such a brilliant manner!