Drie figuren zittend in een gondel met gondelier 1833 - 1880

Auguste Numans created this drawing of three figures seated in a gondola with a gondolier sometime in the 19th century. Numans, who lived from 1823 to 1883, was working within a period of significant social and economic change. Here, we see a snapshot of Venetian life, yet it is important to consider who is included and excluded from this scene. The gondola, traditionally a symbol of Venice, here becomes a stage for the display of class distinctions. The artist highlights the experience of privileged travelers being guided through the city by a gondolier, likely of a lower social class, who is actively working. How does this depiction reinforce existing power structures, and what stories remain untold? The drawing invites us to consider the layers of Venetian society and the complex relationships between labor, leisure, and representation.