A Love Song, a Love Song, from Twelfth Night 1987

Edwin Austin Abbey made this watercolour, *A Love Song, a Love Song, from Twelfth Night*, probably as a study for a larger composition. It's such a breezy, blurry image, with a group of figures to the left and a lone musician to the right. I can just imagine Abbey in his studio, brush in hand, thinking about Shakespeare, trying to capture a fleeting moment from *Twelfth Night*. There's a real sense of atmosphere created by thin washes and delicate lines. Look at the trunk of the tree, it’s like a calligraphy mark! The pink blossom feels so delicate, made with just the lightest touch of the brush. I’m not sure who else Abbey was looking at, but you get the sense that every artist looks at other artists and thinks, “How did they DO that?” It’s a back-and-forth conversation, a game of pictorial tag that goes on for centuries. And then they make something new.