Vrouw op rustbed en man knielend naast haar 1908 - 1937

Bernard Willem Wierink made this small watercolour drawing of a woman resting and a man kneeling beside her. There's such delicacy in the washes of colour. I imagine Wierink, leaning over the paper, coaxing the blues and reds to blend and bleed, trying to capture a moment of quiet intimacy. The paint is thin, allowing the light to reflect through the layers of pigment. Look at the arches framing the view. Notice how the light from the outside meets the figures within, creating a sense of space that feels both real and imagined. I wonder what they're thinking? What is their relationship? Are they happy? Sad? Is it a sacred moment? Wierink is in conversation with a long tradition of painters fascinated by the human figure. Like them, he invites us to contemplate not just what we see, but what we feel when we look. Painting offers a way of thinking, and a way of experiencing the world.