Vrouw op stoel 1924

Jean Emile Laboureur made this print, "Vrouw op stoel," and it's all about lines, aren’t they? The kind of lines that don't quite meet, that suggest more than they define. It's like Laboureur is thinking aloud with his tools. Look at the woman's hands. They are almost doll-like. The hands feel both present and absent, a kind of placeholder. There’s a sketchiness that brings a certain vulnerability to the image. The texture created by the etching feels soft, even though the lines are precise. It's a dance between control and letting go, which is what I think art is all about. This reminds me a little of Suzanne Valadon, who had a similarly pared-down approach to form. It’s like Laboureur is in conversation with her across time, asking questions about how much detail is enough, how much to leave to the imagination. In art, there’s never a right answer, just different ways of seeing.