Studieblad met het hoofd van een etend meisje in profiel naar links 1756 - 1817

Louis Bernard Coclers created this etching, titled "Studieblad met het hoofd van een etend meisje in profiel naar links," sometime in the late 18th century. Coclers lived through the Enlightenment and the start of the Industrial Revolution, eras of immense social and economic change. Here we see a young girl rendered in profile, her headscarf suggesting a domestic setting or perhaps a lower social class. The act of eating, so intimate and essential, becomes a focal point, but her averted gaze hints at a story untold. In a society often defined by rigid class structures, Coclers captures a fleeting moment of everyday life. This image invites us to consider the lives of those often overlooked by history. What does it mean to depict a young, working-class girl in a time of social upheaval? How does Coclers’ artistic choice reflect or challenge societal norms and how might it resonate with our own experiences and understanding of identity today?