Interieur met lezende man. 1790 - 1852

Pieter Christoffel Wonder made this watercolor called ‘Interior with a reading man’ sometime in the first half of the 19th century. The image depicts a man reading, presumably in his own home. But look closer and you'll notice that the scene, rendered in the style of Dutch Golden Age genre painting, also quietly reveals the domestic labor on which this man's leisure depends. A woman, perhaps a maid, toils below-stairs, visible through a small door. Wonder was Dutch, and here he seems to offer a commentary on the nation’s domestic life and social order. The picture prompts us to ask, what does it mean to be cultured? Is it the act of reading, or is it the system of social relations that afford some individuals the time and space for contemplation? To explore these questions, one could delve into historical records about the class structure and labor practices in the Netherlands during the early 1800s, including the archives of charitable institutions and the records of domestic service agencies.