Studie van een zittend vrouwelijk naakt 1703 - 1775

Louis Fabritius Dubourg made this red chalk drawing of a seated nude woman in the first half of the 18th century, when the Netherlands was a republic dominated by a merchant class. Dubourg's choice to draw a nude reflects the artistic conventions of his time, where the classical tradition strongly influenced academic training. In institutions such as art academies, life drawing was considered fundamental to mastering artistic skill, emphasizing the study of human anatomy. This explains the presence of such artworks in museum collections, as these were used as a pedagogic tool. If you want to understand the role of this drawing in Dutch culture, archival research into the organization and curriculum of the Dutch art academies of the 18th century would reveal what this drawing meant in its contemporary context. In doing so, the meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional context.