Portret van Stephania Maria Anna Isabella de Block-Loor 1860

Eugène François de Block created this intimate portrait of Stephania Maria Anna Isabella de Block-Loor using graphite on paper. In nineteenth-century Europe, childhood became a central concept for the middle classes. Paintings and drawings of children reflected ideas about innocence, vulnerability, and the family. This work speaks to these values. The sketch is both a private memento and a public declaration about the values of family. The small scale and delicate lines of the drawing create an intimate experience for the viewer, drawing us into a private moment of tenderness. The portrait also tells us about the professionalization of art in the nineteenth century. As the academies gained prominence, so did drawing as a preparatory exercise and as an art form in itself. Family portraits such as this one reveal how artists were adapting their skills for a growing market of middle-class patrons. To fully understand this image, we would want to research the De Block family and the growth of drawing as a popular medium in the Netherlands.