Vrouw met een waaier en een roos 1913 - 1914

Lodewijk Schelfhout made this etching, Vrouw met een waaier en een roos, we don't know exactly when, but the marks are so decisive and certain. It's as if the image already existed and he simply released it from the plate. The tone is dark, achieved by hatching many tiny lines. They add a rich texture to the surface of the paper, creating velvety shadows that almost look like fabric. This density, this texture makes the piece seem very solid. The woman's face and hands, in contrast, are remarkably smooth, maybe even idealized, as if she's the thought that brought the picture into being. I keep thinking about what that rose in her hand represents. Is it something she's offering to us, or keeping for herself? Either way, it's a token of beauty in the darkness, echoing that tiny rose in Manet's portrait of Baudelaire. What Schelfhout and Manet show us, is how something small can change everything.