Vrouw achter leestafel 1907 - 1916

This picture of a woman behind a lectern, was made by Johannes Hendrikus Antonius Maria Lutz. The surface is kind of like looking through a misty window, all hazy, but it’s not soft. The stripes on her dress are precise, and the detail in the floral patterns is, too. It’s a weird combination of clarity and distance that I can really get behind. And look at the color! It’s like she’s bathed in an old-timey filter, with the muted browns and greens playing against that intense, almost shocking, pink on the page she’s reading. That pop of pink is like a little alarm bell, jolting you into the present. The pink is so odd, it reminds me of the bright, almost neon color choices in some of Alex Katz's portraits, but set against this vintage backdrop. This image messes with your head, like a memory half-forgotten. It invites you to fill in the gaps, to dream a little.