Slapende figuur bij een strandhut en een wandelende vrouw c. 1928 - 1930

Otto Verhagen made this ink drawing, 'Slapende figuur bij een strandhut en een wandelende vrouw', which translates to 'Sleeping figure by a beach hut and a walking woman'. It captures a languid moment on what appears to be a beach. The artwork prompts questions about leisure, gender roles, and social class. The juxtaposition of the sleeping figure near the basic beach hut with the fashionably dressed woman suggests different experiences of leisure and access. The woman's attire – her headscarf and stylish outfit – evokes a sense of modernity and perhaps privilege, while the sleeping figure seems to blend into the landscape, hinting at a different relationship to work and rest. Verhagen's sketch invites us to reflect on how our bodies inhabit and negotiate public spaces. The artwork opens up a space to consider the complexities of leisure, class, and gender in the everyday landscapes we inhabit.