Femme Assise S'Essuyant Les Pieds 1902

Théophile Alexandre Steinlen created this quiet drawing of a woman drying her feet with a towel and some rags, using pencil, pen and ink. I imagine Steinlen in his studio, rapidly sketching the figure in front of him. He is capturing a quiet moment of everyday life, imbuing it with an intimate and timeless quality. I can see the swift, assured strokes of his pen, deftly tracing the contours of her body with precision and grace, and with an economy of line. The washes create shadows, giving the body form. There's a vulnerability in her posture, a sense of self-absorption as she attends to her personal ablutions. It reminds me a little of Degas, who drew women in similar poses of self care. What is it about the banality of bathing that artists find so captivating? The conversation between artists across time is constant, as if they are egging each other on to see things in new ways.