Portret van een jonge vrouw met een hondje c. 1750 - 1777

Franciscus Xaverius Xavery rendered this portrait in ink and paper, during the late 18th century. The artist’s hand is clearly visible in the hatching strokes that define the sitter’s form, and in the controlled washes that give volume to her dress and face. Yet, the labor extends far beyond the artist’s hand. Paper itself was a valuable commodity. The sitter’s elegant lace cap, meticulously depicted, speaks of a textile industry dependent on skilled labor. Even the dog nestled in her arms indexes a complex economy of breeding and trade. The labor of women is subtly present as well, from the sitter’s maintenance of her own appearance, to the almost invisible work of childcare and domestic management that enabled such portraits to be made in the first place. In studying this drawing, we come to see that the artist’s work is just one element of a much larger network of making, consumption, and social status. This expanded view helps us to understand not only the image, but the world that produced it.