Vrouw met kap bij een broodoven 1840

Johannes Tavenraat sketched "Woman with hood at a bread oven," capturing a moment of daily life. It is rooted in a period where women's labor, particularly in domestic spheres, was critical to the functioning of society, yet often remained unseen. The drawing depicts a woman working at a traditional bread oven, a scene that reflects the gendered division of labor, and evokes a sense of the repetitive, physical demands placed on women within agrarian communities. The woman's posture and the rough texture of the oven suggest the grit of her labor. The rough unfinished nature of the sketch adds an additional emotional layer to the piece. Tavenraat invites us to consider the social and economic structures that define women’s roles. How do we value work that is essential, yet rendered invisible? In our contemporary moment of reflection on labor and equity, this drawing serves as a somber reminder of the past and a call for continued dialogue.