Meisje in de duinen 1887 - 1916

Willem Pothast made this print of a girl in the dunes, probably with lithographic crayon, to get that lovely soft finish. I'm imagining Pothast out there on the beach, squinting at the light, trying to capture the way the dunes roll and shift. It’s all about atmosphere, right? It looks like a breezy day. The girl is part of that landscape, almost blending with the dunes. The softness of the print makes everything feel kind of dreamy. I'm wondering what she's thinking. Is she watching the ships come in? Dreaming of a life beyond the dunes? Pothast doesn't give us any answers. He leaves it open, like a good painting should. And the fact that it's a print, not a painting, adds another layer. It’s like he’s trying to capture something fleeting. You know, like a memory. Painters are always in conversation, borrowing and riffing off each other's ideas. Pothast is part of that conversation, and he’s inviting us to join in.