Op de grond zittend meisje 1848 - 1865

Gerard Bilders captured this young girl with a pencil on paper in the mid-19th century. Pencil on paper is such a basic medium, but the way Bilders has used it gives this drawing a remarkable immediacy. Look at the varying pressure of the lines; some are bold and define the contours of her dress, while others are light, almost tentative, suggesting the softness of her hair. You can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the page, quickly capturing a fleeting moment. Drawings like this were not always considered finished works of art. Instead, they were often seen as preparatory studies, a means to an end. But here, the sketchiness becomes part of the charm, giving us a glimpse into the artist's process, and into the sitter's life. It challenges our assumptions about what constitutes a finished work of art and reminds us of the value of the handmade in a rapidly industrializing world.