Studie van Miss Short, van opzij 1802 - 1882

Curator: Here we have "Studie van Miss Short, van opzij", or "Study of Miss Short, from the Side", a pencil drawing dating somewhere between 1802 and 1882, attributed to John Linnell. What's grabbing your attention first? Editor: The vulnerability. The bowed head, the clasped hands...there's a palpable sense of introspection or perhaps even resignation in the figure’s posture. It’s subtle, conveyed so delicately by those pencil strokes. Curator: Absolutely. And the use of pencil is key. It lends itself to that fragility. Looking at the soft shading around the neck and shoulders, I get a sense that Linnell wasn't aiming for photographic accuracy, but for capturing something more fleeting—a mood, a feeling. Editor: I agree. It raises interesting questions about the gaze, doesn’t it? This averted gaze… is it submissive, or is it a refusal? Is Miss Short caught in a moment of contemplation that she, perhaps, doesn’t wish to share with the artist or with us? I can't help but wonder about her agency, how she navigated the societal constraints placed upon women during that period. Curator: That's insightful. Thinking about that tension... Linnell, while seemingly part of the artistic establishment, was also connected to radical thinkers like William Blake. Could this be a subtle nod to a more independent spirit, even in a "study" such as this? It’s possible! It makes you consider how appearances, especially within portraits, are always a negotiated territory, between the sitter, the artist, and their surrounding environment. Editor: And look at the materiality, too. The simple pencil on paper brings an immediacy to it. We see the artist's hand, the directness of the medium contrasting with the societal complexities of the era. Perhaps that tension between freedom and constraint echoes in every line. Curator: Indeed. I feel it serves to pull us in, encouraging us to weave our own stories around her, her thoughts, her place in the world. Thanks, that shifted my thinking. Editor: Me too. It's a poignant piece, one that encourages us to see beyond the surface. A moment suspended.