Knielende vrouw met kam (in doos met 43 tekeningen) 1703 - 1775

Louis Fabritius Dubourg rendered this sketch of a kneeling woman with a comb using pen and gray ink. Consider the comb, an ancient tool, depicted here in the hand of a classical figure. We see it not merely as a grooming aid but as a symbol of transformation and preparation. In antiquity, such acts of grooming were imbued with ritualistic significance, think of the toilette of Venus, preparing for love, or of funerary rites. Observe how this motif echoes across time. A similar gesture appears in early Christian art, where combing hair symbolized purity and readiness for spiritual union. The act takes on a psychological dimension. It speaks to our subconscious desires for order, control, and the presentation of self. The kneeling posture, combined with the intimate gesture, creates a powerful engagement, stirring deep within us notions of beauty, ritual, and the eternal human quest for self-refinement. It's a cyclical progression, where ancient symbols resurface, evolving and acquiring new layers of meaning across history.