Twee koppen 1840 - 1880

This quick sketch, "Twee Koppen," was made by Johannes Tavenraat in the Netherlands, though the exact date is unknown. It's a simple graphite drawing, depicting two heads, one wearing a hat. What can such a small, seemingly insignificant work tell us? Everything we see in a museum, whether sketch or painting, was created within a complex web of social and cultural forces. Tavenraat was working in the 19th century, a time when Dutch art was experiencing a revival, with artists looking to their own traditions for inspiration. But what traditions were deemed worthy of preservation, and by whom? The art world was dominated by academies and established institutions. Tavenraat, who studied at the Amsterdam Academy, may have made studies like this in order to hone his skills. To understand this work more fully, we would want to research the role of academies in shaping artistic taste and practice during this period, including who got excluded from these institutions. Only through such investigation can we appreciate how artworks reflect and shape the social structures of their time.