Vrouwen en meisjes in klederdracht 1875

This sketch, entitled Vrouwen en meisjes in klederdracht by George Clausen, presents a series of rapidly executed figures in pencil. Its most immediate quality lies in its incompleteness, the visible erasures and tentative lines suggesting a study rather than a finished work. Clausen’s use of line is particularly striking. It ranges from the bold outlines defining the figures' basic shapes to the more delicate strokes indicating facial features and folds in clothing. There is a structural juxtaposition between clarity and ambiguity which destabilizes our perception of the depicted figures, making them spectral. The composition is similarly open-ended, with figures arranged in a seemingly haphazard manner across the page. This lack of formal closure invites contemplation on the process of artistic creation itself. The artwork invites viewers to consider the unstable nature of representation. How are images constructed, and what underlying assumptions about identity do they carry?