Study of an Old Woman c. 1856 - 1857

Matthijs Maris made this painting, *Study of an Old Woman*, sometime in the 19th century with oil on canvas. Maris was Dutch, and he lived in an age of nation-building in Europe, in which institutions such as museums played a key role. Art academies taught artists like Maris to master the human form, and works like this served as studies. The artist would have learned to express emotions and psychological states through subtle adjustments to facial features and the fall of light. Although such works served their purpose in the academy, they also resonate more widely in society. They remind us of the value of lived experience. Older people often suffered poverty and were socially excluded, and to make a study of this woman elevates her status and invites our empathy. Understanding art relies on historical research to reveal these social and institutional contexts. It is through this understanding that we can recognize the ways art is shaped by social forces and, in turn, shapes society.