Park van het Kasteel van Saint-Cloud en een ijsverkoper 1858

Gerrit Postma rendered this graphite drawing of the Park van het Kasteel van Saint-Cloud en een ijsverkoper sometime in the 19th century. Here we see the architecture of leisure and the working class, side by side. The figure of the ice cream seller is a study in labor. He carries his wares strapped to his body, a literal embodiment of the weight of his work. He's on the margins of this leisure scene, an outsider looking in. While others enjoy the park's beauty, he remains on the periphery. I wonder, was Postma highlighting the class disparities of his time? Or was he simply capturing a common street scene? There's an emotional tension here, a subtle commentary on who gets to enjoy leisure and who has to work for it. It reminds us that even in places of beauty, social inequalities persist.