Schets van een vrouw met een mand op het hoofd, van achteren 1828 - 1897

Adrianus Eversen made this sketch of a woman with a basket on her head in the Netherlands, sometime in the mid-19th century. Eversen was known for his cityscapes, but this sketch shows a different side of 19th-century Dutch life. The woman, seen from behind, carries a basket on her head, likely filled with goods for market. The sketch's simplicity, the absence of idealization, may reflect a broader artistic interest in Realism, a movement that sought to depict everyday life, including the lives of the working class, without embellishment. Eversen himself was a member of Arti et Amicitiae, an artist society in Amsterdam that promoted the fine arts. Examining the archives of Arti et Amicitiae might reveal more about Eversen's artistic influences, and the social context in which he made this sketch. Through such study, we might better understand the complex relationship between art and social life.