Non in habijt 1710 - 1772

Curator: This work, simply titled “Non in habijt”, which translates from Latin as “Not in Habit”, is an intriguing piece. Its origins trace back to the Baroque period, sometime between 1710 and 1772, and we attribute it to Petrus Johannes van Reysschoot. Made with drawing on paper. Editor: You know, it hits me like a quick sketch in somebody’s notebook. Very raw, but tender. There’s something so immediate and real about the subject—a kind of casual beauty. Curator: Absolutely. Its appeal lies precisely in that deceptive simplicity. Note how the artist employed a single reddish-brown chalk, using hatching and cross-hatching to build volume and shadow, a method quite typical of academic training during the Baroque era. The subtle gradation in the facial area contrasts against the somewhat hurried rendering of the habit. Editor: The sketchy lines almost look like they’re trying to escape the page. Especially the clothing. I can’t tell, but there's an implication this is like… the nun taking her habit *off* perhaps. Or just imagining another, secret life… That glance, that slightly turned shoulder... it's pregnant with possibilities. Curator: One can certainly interpret that ambivalence. However, keep in mind the era's representational codes. Costume served as potent visual signifiers—this "non-habit," precisely, creates a friction in terms of class, status, spirituality... Editor: So much contained, like an unspoken story— I’m always drawn to faces in art, and there's such a captivating ambiguity in her expression! You see her humanity shining right through, against the confines of that garb. It’s gorgeous, so alive! Curator: Indeed. And perhaps that interplay—the tension between prescribed representation and the artist's touch—gives the drawing its lasting resonance, encouraging viewers to speculate even centuries later. Editor: Art at its best—a quick drawing pregnant with meaning. I guess this one, after our conversation, makes you wonder *what* is the habit... and what lies beneath? Curator: Indeed, it offers a quiet subversion beneath the veneer of a study piece. Thank you.