Portret van een vrouw, zittend bij het raam, de vinger aan de lippen 1756 - 1817

Louis Bernard Coclers created this etching, “Portret van een vrouw, zittend bij het raam, de vinger aan de lippen,” portraying a woman in a domestic setting. Born in Liège, Coclers straddled the late Rococo and early Neoclassical periods, capturing a moment where societal expectations of women were shifting yet still constrained. This portrait, with its intimate setting, invites us to consider the woman's inner life. Her gesture of placing a finger to her lips evokes a sense of secrecy or contemplation. Is she silencing herself, or is she guarding a precious thought? The window, a recurring motif in art, frames her gaze outward, hinting at a world beyond her domestic sphere, a world that, as a woman, might have been largely inaccessible to her. The delicate lines of the etching emphasize the quiet, interior nature of her existence, a space both comforting and confining. It’s a gentle, evocative exploration of female identity within the social structures of the 18th century.