Jonge vrouw zittend op een balustrade before 1857

Editor: So, here we have "Young Woman Sitting on a Balustrade" by Célestin Deshayes, made sometime before 1857. It’s a watercolor drawing. What strikes me is the…theatricality. It feels like a glimpse behind the scenes of a play, doesn't it? What do you make of it? Curator: Absolutely! It’s like catching her between acts. I adore how Deshayes has captured that almost-caught-off-guard intimacy. She's perched, but is she relaxed? There's a touch of Romanticism, that love of the dramatic, in the sweeping lines and the hint of a narrative. See how the light catches the folds of her blouse? Do you sense the playful ambiguity there? Editor: I do! It’s funny, actually. I wasn't expecting the blue trousers. They almost give a childlike playfulness. Curator: Precisely! It disrupts the formality of the portrait, doesn't it? Imagine her world – the strictures of society, the performance of gender. Deshayes, with this gentle watercolor, hints at the spirited individual beneath the costume. What do you think her story is? Editor: That’s a great question, it has definitely given me much more to ponder, thinking about who this woman might be. Thanks. Curator: My pleasure! These little gems remind us that even in formal portraits, there's always a whisper of the untold, the individual spirit yearning to break free.