Zittende vrouw in een interieur c. 1916

Reijer Stolk made this watercolor of a seated woman in an interior, we're not sure when, but you can see how he really let the paint do its thing. The colors are muted, almost like a memory, and the way he's built up these transparent layers, it's like he's searching for the form, you know? Especially around her face and hands, it's all suggestion, not declaration. There's this incredible blue wash on the left, grounding her in the space, but it’s also bleeding into everything else. I think he used really soft brushes, the kind that let the water run, which gives it this ephemeral quality. It reminds me a little of some of Bonnard's interiors, the way he uses color to create mood, but Stolk's got his own quiet melancholy going on. It's like he's saying, "Here's a moment, fleeting and fragile, catch it if you can," and in the end, isn't that what art is all about?