Naakte vrouw bij een kaptafel met spiegel 1872 - 1934

Curator: This is Armand Rassenfosse’s “Naakte vrouw bij een kaptafel met spiegel," or "Naked woman at a dressing table with mirror" dating between 1872 and 1934, created using an intaglio etching technique. Editor: Intimate. Immediately, the hatching and the vulnerable subject matter gives a glimpse into a private moment, don't you think? It’s like catching a glimpse into her world before she's fully presentable. Curator: It really plays with the viewer as voyeur, doesn't it? Knowing the printmaking process, the artist would have carefully considered each line etched into the plate, laboriously building up the tones and textures. It’s quite striking, thinking about the craft involved versus the intimacy portrayed. Editor: Exactly. Considering it’s an etching, I wonder about the choices Rassenfosse made to depict the flesh this way? What’s emphasized, what’s not, you know? And also, who do you think this woman might be to Rassenfosse? Was this a paid model or someone close? Curator: Those are fascinating questions, because with a genre scene, it can be difficult to say if it’s a commission, an exercise in style or skill, or whether the subject holds some kind of significance. Editor: I always find myself considering where the materials come from. Where was the copper sourced? How did industrialization impact accessibility to artist materials like the tools or chemicals used in the printmaking process? Curator: It opens up so many questions, that is very true. This etching offers a fascinating dialogue between privacy, craft, and the artist's perspective, but in the end, it holds on to its secrets, wouldn't you say? Editor: I agree. I will leave pondering what’s reflected, what’s real, and all the labour that’s behind even what seems most effortlessly intimate.