Portret van een vrouw, in een ovale lijst met gordijntje 1746 - 1793

Theodorus de Roode created this drawing of a woman in an oval frame with a curtain. Immediately, one notices the almost theatrical framing. The oval form, accentuated by the draped curtain to the left, creates a stage for the woman’s portrait, drawing our eye to the subject. De Roode's use of line and shadow is particularly striking. The soft, gray tones, achieved through delicate strokes, give the portrait a sense of depth. The curtain, rendered in darker shades, contrasts with the lighter face of the woman, heightening the sense of drama. This construction evokes the concept of ‘mise en scène’—the arrangement of elements within a visual field. The woman is not simply presented but meticulously framed to elicit a particular response. The very act of framing suggests that the artwork destabilizes established meanings, or even categories. By framing the woman in this way, de Roode plays with the semiotics of portraiture, turning it into a study of representation itself. The formal qualities of the artwork—the framing, the tonal contrasts, and the soft execution— invite us to continuously interpret and re-interpret the artwork’s meaning.