En kone gående mod venstre med en kurv over armen 1743 - 1809

Nicolai Abildgaard created this drawing with pen and watercolor. A figure dominates the composition; it's a woman viewed in profile, facing left, rendered with delicate washes of brown and gray. Notice how Abildgaard uses line and shadow to give form to her simple garment and the curve of her body. The drawing has a structural clarity; the vertical lines of her dress contrast with the soft curve of her torso. The washes of color define the form, but also create a semiotic dialogue, the browns and grays are in a cultural code reflecting modesty and a working-class status. The subtle application of watercolor enhances the form, but this formal device also opens the artwork to an emotional register of melancholy and everyday existence. The drawing provides a glimpse into the artist's formal vocabulary and the semiotic language of the 18th century.