Old Houses 1920

Hélène Guinepied made this watercolour painting, Old Houses, in 1922 using fine brushstrokes. Imagine her outside, looking at these houses, maybe feeling a bit chilly—you know how the air can be. The painting feels like it’s emerging from the ground, little hatches making up the brickwork. The trees are dark, but also sort of blue? It makes me think of Egon Schiele's landscapes. Look at that one window, almost square, with its dark panes. I wonder what it would be like to stand there, inside, looking out at the person painting? There is a tension in the piece, with the black lines fighting against the pale wash of the background. It is such a beautiful thing, like the start of a thought. This exchange of looking and imagining continues with us as we engage with the work, an ongoing conversation.