Emma Holten

Emma Holten

Emma Holten, feminist, consultant and debater

We see a woman lost in her own thoughts. I get the feeling she’s making a real effort.

Anna Ancher: A Young Girl Arranging Flowers, c. 1885

"I have a coffee cup that says, in graffiti-like letters: ‘Do women have to be naked to get into the Met!?’ The phrase is taken from an artwork by the group Guerrilla Girls from 1989. It protested the fact that less than 5% of the artists at the Metropolitan Museum in New York were women, while women accounted for 85% of the images of naked people. Women were allowed in as long as they were there to be looked at.

They make a valid point: throughout world history, most women have spent a substantial part of their lives serving others and living without rights. Being seen, not heard. You can still see that in art.

Anna Ancher’s picture turns all this upside down. We see a woman lost in her own thoughts. I get the feeling she’s making a real effort. That she is doing something for her own sake. Like Ancher did when she painted it.

The light falling into the room feels very Scandinavian. The sun is strong but low. It reminds me of seeing friends of mine in their kitchens. Of visiting their homes and knowing that I am in their space and that we trust each other."

The work is on display at level 8

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