Portret van een oude dame 1907

Heinrich Krabbé painted this portrait of an old lady on paper using watercolor. Just imagine Krabbé gently coaxing those pale, soft tints from the paintbox to form the old lady’s face. I can really sympathize with Krabbé. It's that feeling of trying to capture something elusive. What do you focus on? That gaze looking off to the side? Perhaps he wanted to know what she was thinking, what she had seen in her life. Maybe he felt for her, just as an exercise in empathy. I love how he works with the brown background which feels unresolved, almost like she is emerging from the shadows. It reminds me a little of Whistler’s tonal studies, where the subject seems to blend in with the atmosphere. It's a reminder that painters are always looking, always responding to the work of others.