Perspectiefoefening met een open deur 1816 - 1852

This is a drawing by jonkvrouw Elisabeth Kemper, a Dutch noblewoman born in 1799, and is titled 'Perspective Exercise with an Open Door'. What does it mean for a woman of Kemper's social standing to be producing technical drawings? In the Netherlands of the 19th century, the ability to draw, and in particular to understand perspective, was a key element in the education of architects. Was Kemper engaged in the serious study of design? Was she perhaps interested in commenting on the exclusion of women from the male-dominated world of architecture? Or was this simply the kind of accomplishment that a woman of her class was expected to cultivate? The historian can address questions like these by looking at letters, diaries, and other documents that shed light on the social and institutional contexts of artmaking. This helps us understand what the practice of art meant in its own time.