Twee meisjes doen een pop in bad c. 1916 - 1917

This image, titled 'Twee meisjes doen een pop in bad', meaning 'Two Girls Bathe a Doll', is by an anonymous artist. It presents a domestic interior with two young girls attending to a doll’s bath. I wonder about the artist, who they were, and why they made it. Was it for a child’s book or for a calendar? The scene is rendered in delicate lines and a muted palette of yellows, greens, and blacks, which makes me think of the kind of illustrations you might find in vintage children's books. The slight awkwardness of the perspective reminds me of early 20th-century illustrations. Look at how the artist depicts the girls' focused attention! They seem to be mimicking the rituals of adulthood, a common theme in art history. Think about the subtle gestures—the way they hold the doll, their bent heads, their seriousness. The artist captures something special about childhood, the blurring of play and reality. It reminds us that art is always in conversation with what has come before, each artist building on the visions of their predecessors.