Studie 1834 - 1906

Maria Vos made this sketch, Studie, using graphite. Vos was one of the few women who managed to become a professional artist in the Netherlands in the 19th century. Though not much is known about the context in which it was made, this sketch is intimate and invites us into Vos’s artistic process. The visible marks of erasures and redrawing capture a moment of creation, and the flowers at the bottom of the sketch suggest a connection to the natural world. In a society that often confined women to domestic roles, art offered an alternative path for self-expression and professional fulfillment. While Vos’s art may not be overtly political, the act of a woman asserting herself in the male-dominated art world was in itself a statement. By studying this work we can reflect on the complexities of gender, creativity, and the quiet acts of resistance that have shaped the art world.