Portret van Freule Berg zittend op stoel 1861 - 1935

This is Joan Berg's delicate etching, "Portret van Freule Berg zittend op stoel". Berg, who lived from 1851 to 1935, captured this portrait with a fine, observant eye. The sitter, "Freule," a Dutch title of nobility, embodies the social status of the time. Consider the gaze of the woman in the portrait, the subtle way she holds herself; does it suggest a quiet confidence or something more complex? Berg, as a female artist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was navigating a world where women's roles in art were often limited. Berg's work invites us to reflect on the dynamics of gender and class during a period of significant social change. What does it mean to portray a woman of nobility through the eyes of a female artist? The work prompts us to consider how identity shapes perception, both in art and in life.