Twee aanzichten van het gezicht en lichaam van een zesjarige jongen 1723

Hieronymus Sperling created this undated drawing with pen in brown ink. It is a study of a six-year-old boy's face and body. It reflects the 18th-century's fascination with scientific observation and classification. What does it mean to study a child in this way? The Enlightenment emphasis on reason and order intersects here with the social hierarchy of the time. Sperling meticulously measures and proportions the boy's body, yet, the boy's gaze meets ours directly, a silent challenge to the clinical eye. Do you find the geometric lines reassuring or dehumanizing? The boy’s nudity invites us to consider how innocence is often framed, particularly within the context of art history and power dynamics. Sperling's drawing prompts us to consider how we perceive and categorize one another and how historical practices continue to shape contemporary understandings of identity.