Breeduit zittende vrouw 1896

George Hendrik Breitner sketched this drawing of a broadly seated woman using graphite on paper. Her languid pose and the rough sketch of her body reveal a specific kind of melancholic state. Consider the motif of the reclining figure, which appears throughout art history from ancient Roman sarcophagi to Renaissance Venuses. Here, the sitter’s posture mirrors that of the odalisque, often depicted as passive and inviting. But Breitner's modern woman takes on new meaning in the rapidly changing urban landscape of the late 19th century. She embodies a psychological state reflective of the stresses of modern life. In psychoanalytic terms, we might interpret her withdrawn posture as an unconscious retreat from the demands of society, a return to the self. This posture, seen across centuries, continues to resonate, reflecting enduring human experiences. It's a posture that has resurfaced, evolved, and taken on new meanings in different historical contexts.