Studie van een zittende vrouw 1849 - 1917

Editor: Here we have Matthijs Maris’s "Studie van een zittende vrouw", a sketch done sometime between 1849 and 1917. It looks like a very preliminary drawing, maybe something he jotted down in a sketchbook. It feels so personal and immediate, even unfinished. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: It’s interesting that you use the word 'personal.' While Maris might have intended it for private use, its presence in a public collection like the Rijksmuseum immediately complicates that notion. The very act of displaying a 'study' transforms its meaning. It invites us to consider not only the artist’s process but also the institution's role in valuing and exhibiting the incomplete. What kind of statement is the museum making here? Editor: That's a really good point. So, are you saying the museum is suggesting that even sketches, these early explorations, have artistic value worthy of display? Curator: Exactly. The museum's selection process elevates what might have been seen as a fleeting, private moment to a work of public interest. Think about the late 19th-century art world - were incomplete works usually exhibited? Or is this inclusion indicative of shifting values? Editor: I hadn't considered that at all. It does make me wonder about other sketches from the time. Maybe they were kept private, seen as more process than product? It's like the museum is reframing our understanding of what constitutes ‘art.' Curator: Precisely. The 'politics of imagery' here involves questioning those established categories and examining the institution's power in shaping our perceptions of art’s role in society. Editor: This gives me a totally different perspective on what I thought was just a quick sketch. Now I'm thinking about the bigger picture of how we value art. Curator: That's exactly what's so exciting about looking at art this way – the opportunity to look deeper and connect the artwork to its broader context and cultural influence.