Petit Point 1935 - 1942

This linen canvas with cotton embroidery thread, entitled "Petit Point," was made by Bessie Vandre, who lived from 1855 to 1995. Look at how Vandre built this little world, stitch by stitch. The colours are muted, almost faded, like a memory. See those outlines of buildings and gardens? It feels like a ghostly echo of something grand, something imagined. Then, lower down, the scene is brought to life with colour. There's a monkey holding a teacup, a little figure with flowers, a dancing man. I wonder what Vandre was thinking as she stitched. Maybe she was weaving together stories she knew or inventing new ones? I imagine her, needle in hand, carefully placing each stitch, building up this tableau. These forms – monkeys, people, and architecture – have been depicted for centuries, each artist borrowing and responding to what came before. Vandre is joining a long conversation, adding her voice to the mix. This piece, with its delicate stitches and dreamlike quality, reminds us that art is a way of making sense of the world, one small step at a time.